ciao
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Italian ciao ("hello, goodbye"), from Venetian ciao ("hello, goodbye, your (humble) servant"), from Venetian s-ciao / s-ciavo ("servant, slave"), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav, slave”), related also to Italian schiavo, English Slav, slave and old Venetian S-ciavón ("Slav"), from Latin Sclavonia ("Slavonia").
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Interjection
ciao!
[edit] Synonyms
- addio, adieu, adios, aloha, arrivederci, auf Wiedersehen, au revoir, bye, bye-bye, cheerio, cheers, farewell, good-by, good-bye, goodbye, good day, sayonara, shalom, so long
[edit] Usage notes
In UK and in US usage, ciao is considered pretentious by some.
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Italian
[edit] Etymology
From Italian schiavo (“(your obedient) servant”) from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”); in the Venetian dialect originally pronounced /stʃaʊ/. Slavs were often enslaved during the early Middle Ages, thus the semantic correspondence. Development and use is similar to the Central European greeting of servus.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Interjection
ciao!
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Descendants
- Czech: čau
- Dutch: tjo
- Esperanto: ĉaŭ
- French: tchao
- German: tschau
- Latvian: čau
- Maltese: ċaw
- Portuguese: tchau
- Slovak: čau
- Slovene: čao
- Spanish: chau
