'Evening' and 'morning' in use as greetings [closed]

Question

This is more a historical question than one on the usages themselves. I'm interested in the history of the truncated forms of "Good morning" and "Good evening..." specifically, when people started greeting one other simply with 'morning', 'afternoon, and 'evening', why they did so, and even where they were first used. I would presume it was due to laziness, but details are always helpful... and, of course, I would appreciate some citation, as confirmation is never a bad thing.

Answer 1

"Morning" appears in print as a salutation, in the shortened form you mention, at least as early as the 1800s. Here are three examples.

From "Educational Quacks; or The Puffing System in Education" in The Educational Magazine (1838):

We came away without asking for Mr. Thwackum, and should not have seen him had he not accidentally come to the back door, to cheapen a bushel of carrots and a sack of potatoes which a poor fellow in a cart was making a grand uproar about, sufficient to disturb the whole neighbourhood.

"Good morning, Mr. Thwackum," said we.

"Morning, Sir — morning, Sir," said the old man; a short dumpty little figure of about fifty years of age. He had got his cane under his arm, his pen over his ear, and his spectacles above his nose; his feet were in slippers, and his stockings fell in graceful wrinkles about the calves of his legs.

From The Working Man's Friend, and Family Instructor (October 23, 1852):

Well, good-morning, Miss Silence," said Uncle Jaw, after having scraped his feet on the scraper, and scrubbed them on the mat nearly ten minutes in silent deliberation.

"Morning, sir," said Silence, abbreviating the "good."

From Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (1867):

"Here you are again," repeated Mr Wegg, musing. "And what are you now? Are you in the Funns, or where are you? Have you lately come to settle in this neighbourhood, or do you own to another neighbourhood? Are you in independent circumstances, or is it wasting the motions of a bow on you? Come! I'll speculate! I'll invest a bow in you."

Which Mr Wegg, having replaced his tin box, accordingly did, as he rose to bait his gingerbread-trap for some other devoted infant. The salute was acknowledged with:

"Morning, sir! Morning! Morning!"

("Calls me Sir!" said Mr Wegg, to himself; "HE won't answer. A bow gone!")

"Morning, morning, morning!"

"Appears to be rather a 'arty old cock, too," said Mr Wegg, as before; "Good morning to YOU, sir."

It's worth noting that "Good morning" is itself an abbreviated form of "I wish you a good morning," which conveys the meaning "I wish that you may have a good morning."

The earliest occurrence of "Evening, sir" (without the "Good") that I could find in a Google search is from a play by Henry Arthur Jones called The Chevaleer (1904):

Abel. Let us evermore bear them in mind for to be a warning unto us; and especially unto you. [Digging his finger pointedly at CHARLIE.] And especially unto her! Let us evermore strive to act so as to prevent ourselves from carrying on like the guilty parties—[the steam-organ outside gives one long groan]—like the guilty parties now before us; and also from walking in their footsteps, which before now have proved to be the ruin of thousands, and which if not rooted up in the bud, may one day prove to be the ruin of many here, likewise the ruin of you. [Digging his finger at CHARLIE.] And likewise the ruin of her! [Digging his finger at LADY ANNE.] Tchevaleer, I have done my duty towards the proud ones of the earth. Evening. Evening, Sir John, evening my lady; evening, sir.