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92:
of the phrase "hell of a" or "hell of a lot ", in turn reduced to "hell of", though some scholars doubt this etymology since its grammatical usage does not align with those phrases; or of "hellacious". It often appears in place of the words "really", "a lot", "totally", "very", and in some cases,
917:
147:
since at least the mid-1970s. Geoff
Nunberg, a UC Berkeley linguist, has theorized on the origins of the slang term "hella". "Hella emerged somewhere in Northern California around the late 1970s, and although it spread to other places, it’s still associated with this region," says Nunberg.
1099:...a proposed metric prefix...useful for describing mega-measurements like Earth's mass (6 Hellagrams). The International Committee for Weights and Measures agreed to consider it after a Facebook petition garnered 30,000 signatures
148:
Historically, many slang words have spread from black
English to white English and not in the other direction, which is why Nunberg says he suspects it started in Oakland, an area that, at one point, was 47% African American.
252:
to the annoyance of the other characters, which contributed to its currency spreading nationally. "You guys are hella stupid" is one of the phrases spoken by a talking
Cartman doll released in 2006. The
1081:
More than 20,000 scientists, students and members of the public have signed an online petition backing the new quantity, which would be used for figures with 27 zeros after the first digit.
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adopted the prefix "ronna-" to represent 10, as the symbol H, commonly used to represent "hella-", is already in use in the metric system for the
825:
1016:
486:
275:'s list of 20 words that sum up the 2000–2009 decade, defined as "An intensive in Youthspeak, generally substituting for the word
856:
156:
1185:
116:
According to lexicographer Allan A. Metcalf, the word is a marker of northern
California dialect. According to Colleen Cotter, "
683:
297:. Younger school children may be required to use this form. Church culture in Northern California also encouraged usage of
69:
1163:
864:
536:
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717:
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transplant in
California "fear the worst: nationwide acceptance of this wretched term." Since the early 1990s
76:. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good". It was eventually added to the
1266:
322:, features the lyric "your body's hecka slammin'...", which would appear to be an early adoption of the term
1137:
785:
223:
regularly use the term in their lyrics; Macklemore uses the word several times in his worldwide hit song "
1303:
921:
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was "used among Bay Area youth of all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds and both genders."
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says "It's everywhere up here.... We thought it was funny, and everyone says it all the time."
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is used to mock "NorCal" dialect, with the actual meaning being the opposite of hella.
1065:"Hella number: scientists call for new word for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000"
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remains part of the dialect of northern
California, where it has grown in popularity.
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1017:"Sheila E. Remembers Private Life With Prince, Wild 'Purple Rain' Parties"
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1112:"The Official Petition to Establish "Hella-" as the SI Prefix for 10^27"
993:
548:(Senior honors thesis (undergraduate)). New York University. p. 11.
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891:
709:
A Cultural
Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Readings
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1212:"How many yottabytes in a quettabyte? Extreme numbers get new names"
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502:
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829:
704:"Word Up: Social Meanings of Slang in California Youth Culture"
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857:"Yo, yo, yo ... Catch this Slang is used to unify the masses"
141:
1186:"Big Data Headed For 'Hellabyte' Metric, Says Andrew McAfee"
351:
is uncommonly flexible. It can be used to modify almost any
515:
98:
272:
120:
know the term ... but rarely use it." Sometimes the term
918:"Hella: Slang name for a band that's hard to pigeonhole"
1046:"Have a Hella Good Time: On Intensifiers and Antonyms"
461:
An online petition begun in 2010 by Austin Sendek of
1056:
60:
slang term originating in and often associated with
34:
This article is about the word. For other uses, see
1267:
Hella Facts About the Word Hella by George McIntire
966:"Physics major has a name for a really big number"
854:
636:
981:Sendek, who was forced to use hecka as a child...
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1209:
747:
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598:(Third ed.). Oxford University Press. 2002.
382:Chris's pizza is hella better than anyone else's
1086:
1129:
915:
750:"Shorties and Scholars Agree, the Word Is Rap"
667:
68:, possibly specifically emerging in the 1970s
1177:
994:"How To Use Hella (RE: Language & Slang)"
889:
261:chose its name for the regional association;
775:
706:. In Goodman, Jane; Monaghan, Leila (eds.).
639:How We Talk: American Regional English Today
487:International Bureau of Weights and Measures
712:. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 243–267.
692:
538:To Hella and Back: A Syntactic Analysis of
1164:"First goes Google, now goes WolframAlpha"
892:"Must Have: Talking Cartman Action Figure"
1043:
1104:
963:
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444:is used on its own as a reply replacing
207:as a common slang term, particularly in
82:in 2002, citing a 1987 first use in the
42:
29:American slang meaning "very" or "a lot"
1183:
1097:. Vol. 18, no. 6. June 2010.
778:"I Hate Hella, All Montagues, and Thee"
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157:University of California, Santa Barbara
14:
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1210:Elizabeth Gibney (November 18, 2022).
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417:I ran to the pizza joint hella quickly
47:'Hella' as used in Northern California
1138:"Google gets behind 'hella' campaign"
1062:
1014:
589:
587:
571:
534:
518:, a similar word used in Philadelphia
469:for 10. The prefix was recognized by
1044:Skoultchi, Mark (February 1, 2011).
748:Lynette Holloway (January 5, 1997).
552:
347:exist in many colloquial varieties,
1135:
916:Jeremy Scherer (October 15, 2003).
572:Eghan, Adizah (November 17, 2016).
465:seeks to establish "hella-" as the
187:term. With the release of the 2001
24:
1184:Boulton, Clint (October 7, 2013).
890:Luigi Lugmayr (October 28, 2006).
865:California State University, Chico
855:Kristin Carmichael (Spring 1999).
602:
584:
326:in its accepted vernacular usage.
25:
1325:
1251:
316:," released in 1987 on the album
183:, though it remained a primarily
1063:Moore, Matthew (March 2, 2010).
964:Chawkins, Steve (July 6, 2010).
179:By 1997, the word had spread to
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1037:
1008:
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957:
935:
909:
883:
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542:in Dialects of American English
535:Boboc, Wellesley (April 2016).
203:has been used regularly in the
109:is primarily used to modify an
769:
741:
661:
628:
528:
485:with this usage. In 2022, the
334:
13:
1:
1015:Grant, Sarah (June 7, 2017).
776:David Gentry (May 16, 2002).
522:
505:, a similar word used in the
435:Was the party fun last night?
62:San Francisco's East Bay area
922:Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
456:
132:
7:
1142:The San Francisco Chronicle
996:. HITRECORD. April 24, 2014
496:
282:Paralleling the use of the
70:African-American vernacular
10:
1330:
1226:10.1038/d41586-022-03747-9
1136:Kim, Ryan (May 24, 2010).
943:"A Portrait of the Decade"
784:: The Hook. Archived from
127:
33:
1262:Double-Tongued Dictionary
782:Charlottesville, Virginia
635:Allan A. Metcalf (2000).
596:Oxford English Dictionary
372:Standard American English
360:That pizza was hella good
248:repeatedly used the term
174:
97:is generally used with a
79:Oxford English Dictionary
945:. BBC. December 14, 2009
594:"hella, adv. and adj.".
574:"The Origins of 'Hella'"
493:, a unit of inductance.
329:
101:, according to linguist
1190:The Wall Street Journal
1162:Austin (May 31, 2011).
668:Colleen Cotter (2001).
388:modifies the adjective
366:modifies the adjective
244:special, the character
215:. Popular area rappers
1309:English-language slang
1272:July 28, 2014, at the
1032:It's an Oakland thing.
1021:Rolling Stone Magazine
477:in May 2011. In 2013,
240:," which was the 1998
140:has likely existed in
48:
36:Hella (disambiguation)
118:Southern Californians
46:
423:modifies the adverb
271:was included on the
155:, a linguist at the
826:"Spooky Fish Recap"
616:. December 19, 2002
481:suggested the term
88:. It is possibly a
66:northern California
1304:California culture
755:The New York Times
406:modifies the noun
355:, as shown below:
289:, some people use
145:California English
49:
970:Los Angeles Times
836:on March 22, 2008
685:978-1-86450-182-7
647:Reference Books.
507:Pacific Northwest
473:in May 2010, and
463:Yreka, California
400:I ate hella pizza
319:Sign o' the Times
205:Pacific Northwest
16:(Redirected from
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113:such as "good".
58:American English
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947:. Retrieved
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927:February 14,
925:. Retrieved
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901:February 13,
899:. Retrieved
895:
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875:February 13,
873:. Retrieved
869:the original
860:
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840:February 13,
838:. Retrieved
834:the original
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792:February 13,
790:. Retrieved
786:the original
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761:February 12,
759:. Retrieved
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731:. Retrieved
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620:February 13,
618:. Retrieved
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1299:2010s slang
1294:2000s slang
1289:1990s slang
1169:October 18,
509:, from the
343:similar to
335:Intensifier
284:minced oath
225:Thrift Shop
90:contraction
1283:Categories
812:lyrics.com
523:References
374:would use
255:Sacramento
238:Spookyfish
233:South Park
221:Macklemore
193:Hella Good
185:West Coast
1242:253671538
1195:April 21,
1050:Catchword
483:hellabyte
467:SI prefix
457:SI prefix
438:-- Hella!
412:a lot of.
263:Zach Hill
242:Halloween
236:episode "
197:Virginian
151:By 1993,
133:Early use
111:adjective
95:hell of a
1270:Archived
1234:36400954
1116:Facebook
1071:. London
1026:June 12,
1000:April 9,
975:April 5,
896:I4U News
861:CatBytes
728:71243975
702:(2006).
497:See also
189:No Doubt
161:Bay Area
142:northern
1260:at the
1147:June 4,
1121:June 4,
1075:June 4,
733:May 25,
503:Skookum
450:totally
425:quickly
246:Cartman
230:In the
209:Seattle
195:," one
128:History
74:Oakland
18:Helluva
1240:
1232:
1217:Nature
830:TV.com
726:
716:
682:
651:
471:Google
390:better
370:where
339:While
312:song "
310:Prince
191:song "
175:Spread
122:grippa
56:is an
1258:hecka
1238:S2CID
1095:Wired
546:(PDF)
540:hella
491:Henry
442:hella
421:hella
408:pizza
404:hella
386:hella
368:good,
364:hella
349:hella
345:hella
330:Usage
324:hecka
303:hella
301:over
299:hecka
295:hella
291:hecka
269:Hella
259:Hella
250:hella
201:hella
169:Hella
165:hella
138:Hella
107:hella
53:Hella
1230:PMID
1197:2019
1171:2012
1149:2010
1123:2010
1077:2010
1028:2017
1002:2020
977:2014
951:2009
929:2008
903:2008
877:2008
842:2008
794:2008
763:2008
735:2014
724:OCLC
714:ISBN
680:ISBN
649:ISBN
622:2008
578:KQED
516:Jawn
446:very
429:very
394:much
376:very
308:The
287:heck
277:very
227:".
219:and
211:and
99:noun
1222:doi
448:or
279:".
273:BBC
72:of
64:in
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