Where does the phrase 'Hail fellow well-met' come from?

Question

Where does the phrase 'Hail fellow well-met' come from?

Answer 1

"Hail, fellow, well met,

All dirty and wet;

Find out, if you can,

Who's master,who's man."



My Lady's Lamentation

Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)

Answer 2

When people may have a "devil may care" or "cavalier" attitude to something which should be more serious, we say they were "hail fellow well met" about it all.

Its origins seem to stem from the Renaissance period.

Answer 3

The English midieval days.

Answer 4

I think this comes from one of Shakespeare's plays, but for the life of me I can't remember which one. It's possibly from 'Much ado about nothing'. Sorry I can't be more specific!

Answer 5

I think it refers to the way modern day witches greet each other, apparently the used to say,"merry meet", replied with, "merry meet again"

Answer 6

it was a medieval form of greeting, most probably originating from scotland.



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