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In reply to:
some sound, if not a real word, which allows the speaker to gather his wits
Um, I think they're called, errr, fillers or filled pauses.
Bingley
Bingley
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the word "hello" was made up as a telephone greeting
I am totally gobsmacked by this, and am going for a little lie down.
Me too. But I'm a bit suspicious as well. It sounds a lot like urban mythology. Does anyone have sources?
Also leads to words that are, technically, meaningless:
Goodbye - does anyone actually use it in the sense of 'god be with ye'?
Heck, darn...
Also, my two favourite invented names:
Wendy (J M Barrie - Peter Pan)
Lorna (Stephenson - Lorna Doone)
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Does anyone have sources?
Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: hel·lo
Pronunciation: h&-'lO, he-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural hellos
Etymology: alteration of hollo
Date: 1889
: an expression or gesture of greeting -- used interjectionally in greeting, in answering the telephone, or to express surprise
and
Main Entry: hol·lo
Pronunciation: hä-'lO, h&-; 'hä-(")
Variant(s): also hol·loa /hä-'lO, h&-/; or hol·la /h&-'lä, 'hä-(")/
Function: interjection
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1588
1 -- used to attract attention (as when a fox is spied during a fox hunt)
2 -- used as a call of encouragement or jubilation
I think the latter derives from "holler".
Mind you, no telephone reference. And it begs the question, where did Bell get the word from if he did invent it? "Ahoy" is clear enough, but why change the first vowel in "hollo"?
Incidentally, I'd forgotten that Wendy was an invented name.
Certainly popular enough since, at least in England.
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Um, I think they're called, errr, fillers or filled pausesWell, indeed so, Bingley. But meaningful phrases can become fillers, as is the case with "Y'know?" and even "Yessss (but).." 
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I think this is an example of synecdoche
Bingley, sir, you are absolutely priceless.
How much more lacking in clarity we would all be without your presence!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Incidentally, I'd forgotten that Wendy was an invented name.Aren't they all? 
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old hand
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Does anyone have sources?
Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: hel·lo
Pronunciation: h&-'lO, he-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural hellos
Etymology: alteration of hollo
Date: 1889
: an expression or gesture of greeting -- used interjectionally in greeting, in answering the telephone, or to express surprise
and
Main Entry: hol·lo
Pronunciation: hä-'lO, h&-; 'hä-(")
Variant(s): also hol·loa /hä-'lO, h&-/; or hol·la /h&-'lä, 'hä-(")/
Function: interjection
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1588
1 -- used to attract attention (as when a fox is spied during a fox hunt)
2 -- used as a call of encouragement or jubilation
Are you trying to discredit me?
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Are you trying to discredit me?Well JazzO, I think I'm used to the Merriam-Webster layout enough to wrap it around a mythical definition if you want! One for April 1st, perhaps
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One for April 1st, perhaps Good idea, let's get Jazz to ome up with an explanation for "hunting the gowk."
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old hand
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There was a time when most all names had a meaning. For example, if one traces my own name, Geoffrey, one goes back to the Germanic Gottfried, or "God's peace." Nowadays, how many of us actually relate our names to a character trait, a place, etc?
As for Shanks' reminding us that "Goodbye" meant "God be with ye," might not "hello" be derived from "hallow?" Some languages do invoke a diety, or a supposedly deific trait, in greeting. Conjecture, of course, but why not?
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