hail-fellow

[ noun heyl-fel-oh; adjective heyl-fel-oh ]

noun

1. Also hail fellow, hail-fellow well met. a spiritedly sociable person; jolly companion.

adjective

1. sociable; heartily genial:

   His hail-fellow manner helped him to advance in the sales force.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hail-fellow¹

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

The intruder was a stranger to the admiral, but he knew a few of his fellow diners, shook their hands, and then with a hail-fellow grin introduced himself to Admiral Hayes.

From New York Times

And he's not very good at faking the hail-fellow camaraderie that is part of American public life, either.

From Time

He was young and energetic—he had a certain breezy geniality of manner, and was very much hail-fellow well-met with all classes.

From Project Gutenberg

He and the old colleges were hail-fellow well met; and in the quadrangles, he “walked gowned.”

From Project Gutenberg

When we played with jack-straws, we were hail-fellow with those who now oppose us.

From Project Gutenberg