"Hella" A NorCal Original

If one particular word or phrase could define a region in the United States, New England's might be wicked, New York's might be forgeta' 'bout it, the Midwest might lay claim to pop as its descriptor for soda, and Southern California's unnecessary the before every freeway might be theirs. In Northern California, the word hella has come to define this particular region of the United States.

Hella's Etymology

If you aren't familiar with the etymology of the word hella, it is a singular word used to represent the phrase hell of a lot of. The main purpose of the word is to modify an adjective, and is a replacement for modifiers such as good, very, great, and really.

Hella's Origin

The origin of the word can be traced back over 30 years ago to the San Francisco Bay Area, more specifically, to the city of Hayward located in the eastern Bay Area (sorry San Francisco you can't lay claim to everything). Some word scholars believe that James Hetfield, one of the founding members of Metallica, was one of the first major celebrities to start using hella, thus bringing it to our national attention. 

Hella's Rise

To Southern California's dismay and ardent dislike of anything Northern Californian, by the year 2000, 'hella' had spread across the United States and been embraced by hip hop pop culture and TV shows such as South Park. In 2009, the BBC included hella as one of the defining words of the decade. 

How to Use Hella

Like a lot of slang words, hella can be used in a variety of ways to intensify most parts of speech. For example:

I hella just bit my tongue! Hella replaces the word totally.

That glazed donut looks hella good. Hella replaces the word really or very.

I just did hella push-ups. Hella replaces the word many.

Variations of Hella

Like many words, hella as undergone a few changes, however the root of the word remains the same. Sometimes hella might be pronounced as helluv or hellza, both are excepted variations of hella.