An intensifier, with a grammatical function and usage similar to "very" or "really".

It's a contraction of "hell of", and may have originated in Alameda County, California. It was definitely in common use in Berkeley public schools as far back as 1979.

The real name for the country of Greece.
Mean, stone of Sun.

In Northern California, people tend to name quantities of various items slightly different. The 1st is one, the 2nd is two, the 3rd and beyond are hella.

My own extensive research has found that the term 'hella' or 'hellof' did not originate in San Francisco, but rather Oakland, as the first anyone remembers hearing it was Oaklnd in 1976, then later. in the early 80s in San Francisco.

You just use it cause it's a term that you grew up in the neighborhood saying. It's like being from Pennsylvania and saying "youse" instead of "you". Hella originated in the bay area like hella years ago. It was just something that grew on you and you still use it today cause you never grew out of it. Some guy from Vegas tried to tell me hella started in Vegas and I was like "Fuck that. Dude you gotta be fucking retarded, hell no."

1. Originated in Oakland in the mid-70s.
2. Was originally pronounced "hell of" (NOT "hell of a").
3. Examples:
4. Was funny because it confused people.
5. First used in a movie: E.T. (1982). Boy looks in fridge and mumbles to himself, "there's nothin' but hella shit in here."
6. Kids began to say "heck of" to keep from getting in trouble w/ parents.

Term used to indicate personal superiority. When spoken in conversation, the receiving party immediatley knows that the person saying the word is of a high class because of that person's NorCal roots.
Thusly, if the receiver is not of the same geography and stature, negative emotions arise from envy. A primary example is that of the frustrated SoCal dweller who is frequently subjected to the mighty and humbling presence of NorCalers.
Alternatively, Hella can alert other prestigious NorCalers that they are dealing with a higher species much like themselves.