By: Billy BeerSlugger
Did you ever wonder where some of these slang words that we use nowadays originated? For instance why would you call your male friend your “Homey”, or why is it when you (as a male) when trying to pick up girls refer to it as “holla’ing”.
Of course I have a theory about this. At least these two urban slang words.
Homey: The boys, the ones you not only like, but trust. Used in a sentence: “You homeys got my back, right.” (According to the Urban Dictionary).
Do you notice the phonetic similarity to the French word “Homme” (pronounced hohm) and the urban slang word “Homey”? The French word “Homme” is translated as man. So you can see how I came to the conclusion that a misguided high-schooler, while in French class, began calling all his boys a mispronounced version of “Homme” (Ho – Me). Both words are masculine nouns. You make the connection.
The next word we will look at is “Holla“. You’ve done it. You’ve holla’d at a girl at least once in your life. And what exactly are you doing when you “Holla” at a girl. Basically, you don’t know this girl you’re trying to say hello. Same thing when you say “Holla Back”. What you’re trying to articulate is “I’m saying hello to you and I’m asking you to say hello back”.
Well guess what the Spanish word for hello is ? “Hola“. Add another L in the Spanish word “Hola” and you have “Holla“. Coincedence, I think not. I think this another case of a misguided high-schooler in Spanish class trying to use a word from a different language to impress people but ultimately mispronouncing the word.
“Holla Suzie”, the young man remarked. He was trying to say “Hello Suzie” in Spanish, the young lady laughed and the phrase stuck. The rest is history.
Now I could be wrong about this but I’m wasted right now and it makes complete sense to me. We’ll see when I wake up.