What (who) is hella - definition

AMERICAN SLANG MEANING "VERY" OR "A LOT"

Hella (word); Helluva; Hellabyte

hella

1) Used to emphasize a phrase or description. Northern Californians only.
Lets go to John's house, he has hella food.
2) Very. Use instead of wicked.
That's hella cool.

Hella

Hella is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hella

helluva

¦ contraction informal a hell of a (representing a pronunciation).

Wikipedia

Hella

Hella is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco East Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002. It is possibly a contraction of the phrase "hell of a" or "hell of a lot [of]", in turn reduced to "hell of", though some scholars doubt this etymology since its grammatical usage does not align with those phrases. It often appears in place of the words "really", "a lot", "totally", "very", and in some cases, "yes". Whereas hell of a is generally used with a noun, according to linguist Pamela Munro, hella is primarily used to modify an adjective such as "good".

According to lexicographer Allan A. Metcalf, the word is a marker of northern California dialect. According to Colleen Cotter, "Southern Californians know the term ... but rarely use it." Sometimes the term grippa is used to mock "NorCal" dialect, with the actual meaning being the opposite of hella.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hella

Pronunciation examples for hella

1. Hello. Hello. Hello.

District 9 (2009)

2. Hello, hello, hello.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

3. -Hello? -Hello.

Road to Perdition (2002)

4. Hello? Hello?

Triangle (2009)

5. - Hello. - Hello.

And When Did You Last See Your Father?

Examples of use of hella

1. Hella also predicted an increase in incoming tourism.

2. Fifteen minibuses at the Alawi Hella station were slightly damaged by the mortar fire, a journalist at the scene said.

3. Israir‘s marketing manager, Amir Hella, expects a 15 percent increase in the number of travelers to the United States this summer, arguing that the falling dollar will make people willing to take longer vacations.

4. Simon Winchester and Hella Pick Friday August ', 1'74 The Guardian Washington, August 8 Richard Milhous Nixon, the thirty–seventh President of the United States, discredited by two years of the most pervasive scandal this country has ever known, bereft of all credible political support, tonight announced his resignation from office, the first president in history to do so.

5. While the accusations again him stung, Wiesenthal found his reputation greatly enhanced in his own adopted country of Austria, which had long viewed him as a meddler, according to Wiesenthal biographer Hella Pick.To many, his name had long been a symbol of human conscience.