In Czech Republic and Slovakia (former Czechoslovakia), ahoj (pronounced [aɦɔj], ahoj ⓘ) is an everyday greeting. The following are folk explanations [53] for why ahoj is used in this part of Central Europe: This is a command meaning “go forward at full speed” in nautical language. The phrase comes from the era of steam-powered ships, which used steam engines to power their propellers and move through the water. The phrase comes from the practice of sailing ships, which used sheets, or ropes, to control the sails. If a sheet was not secured properly, it could cause the sail to flap uncontrollably in the wind, which was known as being “in the wind.” Contributions should be travel related. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning Booking.com’s services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.

Based on the first floor of this gorgeous converted Victorian building, Ahoy There! is newly renovated offering a stylish and luxurious base for a wonderful coastal holiday. The open plan Lounge/Kitchen has incredible views across the adjacent playing fields onto Hythe Town Centre, the stunning St Leonard's Church and the pretty village of Saltwood on the hill. Relax on the sumptuous navy velvet sofa and armchair to enjoy the pretty view, or just curl up in front of the smart TV. There is a separate dining area for four people and a fully equipped kitchen with fitted oven, fridge/freezer, full size dishwasher and washing machine to cook up a storm. This is probably the most popular and well-known of all of the nautical greetings used on ships. If you want to sound more like a pirate, you could say “Ahoy, me hearties” or “Ahoy matey”. In 1837 the Danish novelist Andreas Nikolai de Saint-Aubain, who published under the pseudonym Carl Bernhard, used the phrase "‚Ahoi, en Sejler!‘ raabte Matrosen fra Mærset". [45] In the same year Saint-Aubin's German translation "‚Ahoi, ein Segler!‘, rief der Matrose vom Mers", is an example of early evidence in the German-speaking world. The Swedish author Emilie Flygare-Carlén wrote in 1842: "Örnungen reddes till en ny färd på den klarnade böljan; manskabet skrek sitt muntra ‚å-hoj!‘" [46] The German translator of 1843 avoided the use of å-hoj In Finnish the interjection is derived from the Swedish ohoj and becomes ohoi. In a German-Finnish dictionary ahoi (German) is written as hoi (Finnish). [52] A translation from either Low German or English ahoy into the related language of Estonian is pronounced and spelt ahoi. The Czech and Slovak ironic love of language contributed to the distribution of ahoj. In Slovakia ahoj-derivates are used in variety of different scenarios, such as the diminutive "ahojček", as a toast "ahojka", to a greater extent the plural-form "ahojte", as well as the grammatically correct we-form "ahojme sa". [58] In Czech as well as in Slovak ahoj is being slowly replaced by the modern-day form "čau", which comes from the Italian greeting ciao. This has been perceived to be the case since the Czechoslovak government allowed the Italian films to be shown in the 1960s. [59] Usage in youth culture [ edit ]Dietmar Bartz: Ahoi! Ein Wort geht um die Welt. In: derselbe: Tampen, Pütz und Wanten. Seemannssprache, Wiesbaden 2014, ISBN 978-3-86539-344-9, S. 307 Ahoy" represents the original English form and its first maritime use was recorded in 1751 as a new word in nautical language. The first evidence for the German word "ahoi" is found in 1828. Ahoy is widely used in the Northern and Baltic Maritime World. It expresses semantically a change in distance or presupposes it. In most languages it can be used as an interjection, whilst in others it takes the form of a verb (e.g. English - "to ahoy", German - "ahoi sagen") [2] or a noun (e.g. Swedish - "ohoj", German - "das Ahoi") It is not known how the word spread in harbour towns or on ships with an international crew, especially as similar sounding interjections in a neighbouring language may have either interfered with or promoted the adoption. a b The connection with similar passages ("hey" instead of "hoy") in two songs from the early 16th century is unclear. See Ray Siemens: Revisiting the Text of the Henry VIII Manuscript (BL Add Ms 31,922): An Extended Note. In: Early Modern Literary Studies 14.3 (2009) 3.1–36. The term rarely appeared in dictionaries in the 19th century. It is not included in the " Urduden" dictionary published in 1880. The Grimm brothers’ Dictionary of German (Deutsches Wörterbuch) did not recognize the word at the time; it did not appear in the first volume, published in 1852, with entries up to the keyword "allverein". The DWB's second edition published in 1998, documents the earliest uses of the term as occurring in 1846 and 1848. [12] In addition, the original index cards for the dictionary, which are kept in the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, do not contain any earlier entries. The standard work "Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache" by Friedrich Kluge lists ahoi as a separate entry since the 1999 edition. [13] Meaning “hello” or “hey there” in nautical language, “Ahoy” is a classic and versatile nautical greeting that can be used to say hello or get someone’s attention on a ship.

The earliest documentation of the term in German language appears not in non-fictional maritime texts but the nautical prose. In the beginning, the circumstances point to uncertainties regarding the usage of the word. Since the late 1820s, the words ahoy and ahoi marked with the coda -i, a feature demonstrating Germanization of ahoy, can be found in the German translation of English novels and fictions. Around the same time, the term was used by authors in original German texts on rare occasions. Ahoi became an established term around 1950 as it was used in the works of widely-read authors from the 1940s onward. [11]Der Prozess um des Esels Schatten, zitiert nach Friedrich Dürrenmatt: 4 Hörspiele. Berlin 1967, S. 28 In Old Russian " goy" was a standard greeting [ citation needed] which is still present in Russian folk fairy tales. Functionally related with "hoy" is a group of similar sounding calls and greetings in the Germanic languages: Middle and Modern English "hey" and "hi", German, Dutch, Danish and Norwegian hei, in Sweden hej, [8] and the Dutch greeting hoi. [9]