ave

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ave"

Languages (22)

Translingual • English

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Danish • Esperanto • Friulian • Galician • Indonesian • Interlingua • Italian • Kabuverdianu • Latin • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Galician-Portuguese • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Sardinian • Spanish • Tolai • Venetan

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Avestan.

Symbol

ave

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Avestan.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Avestan terms

English

Etymology 1

From Latin ave.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑːveɪ/, /ˈæveɪ/, /ˈeɪvi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːveɪ, -æveɪ, -eɪvi

Noun

ave (plural aves)

1. A salutation.
2. An Ave Maria.
   • 1913, “Danny Boy”, Frederic Weatherly (lyrics):

     Ye’ll come and find the place where I am lying
     And kneel and say an ave there for me.

Interjection

ave

1. A reverential salutation.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Alternative forms

• ave.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æv/

Noun

ave (plural aves)

1. Abbreviation of avenue.
   • 2021, Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle, Fleet, page 267:

     Eleven blocks up the ave from his parents but a different city.

2. Abbreviation of average.

Anagrams

• Eva, EVA, AEV, Vea, eva, eva', EAV, VAE, vae

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Danish aughæ, from Old Norse agi (“fear, discipline”), from Proto-Germanic *agô, form of *agaz (“fear, dread”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂égʰos, from *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, afraid”).

Noun

ave c

1. discipline, keeping in check

   Du skal holde forureningen i ave.

   You must keep the pollution in check.

Etymology 2

From Latin āve.

Noun

ave n (singular definite avet, plural indefinite ave)

1. Ave Maria

Inflection

Declension of ave

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ave	avet	ave	avene
genitive	aves	avets	aves	avenes

Etymology 3

From Old Norse aga (“frighten, scare”), from Proto-Germanic *agōną

Verb

ave (imperative av, infinitive at ave, present tense aver, past tense avede, perfect tense avet)

1. to control; govern.
2. (dated) to discipline; punish.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ave

active passive infinitive ave aves present aver aves past avede avedes imperative av — participle present avende past (have / havde) avet gerund aven

References

• “ave” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “ave” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Esperanto

Etymology

Etymology tree

Esperanto avo

Proto-Italic *-ēd

Old Latin -ēd

Latin -ebor.

Russian -е (-e)influ.

▲

Polish -einflu.

▲

Czech -einflu.

Esperanto -e

Esperanto ave

From avo + -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈave/
• Rhymes: -ave
• Syllabification: a‧ve

Adverb

ave

1. grandfatherly (in the manner or way of a grandfather)

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin ava.

Noun

ave f (plural avis)

1. grandmother

Synonyms

• none

Related terms

• basave
• von

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ave, from Latin avis, avem, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaβɪ]

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. bird

   Synonym: (smaller birds) paxaro

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “ave”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “ave”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “ave”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ave”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ave”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Uma' Lung [Term?].

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈave/ [ˈa.fe]
• Rhymes: -ave
• Syllabification: a‧ve

Noun

ave (plural ave-ave)

1. blade

   Synonym: mata pisau

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin avē̆ (“hail, hello, farewell, greetings”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈave/ [ˈa.fe]
• Rhymes: -ave
• Syllabification: a‧ve

Interjection

ave

1. ave, hail, hello, farewell, greetings

Further reading

• “ave”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Interlingua

Etymology 1

From Latin avis.

Noun

ave (plural aves)

1. bird

Etymology 2

From Latin ave.

Interjection

ave

1. hail

Italian

Etymology

From Latin ave.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.ve/
• Rhymes: -ave
• Hyphenation: à‧ve

Interjection

ave

1. hail

Noun

ave f

1. plural of ava

Anagrams

• -eva, Eva

Kabuverdianu

Alternative forms

• avi (Sotavento)

Etymology

From Portuguese ave.

Noun

ave

1. (Barlavento) bird

References

• Gonçalves, Manuel (2015), Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary (overall work in English), Mili Mila, →ISBN
• Veiga, Manuel (2012), Dicionário Caboverdiano-Português, Instituto da Biblioteca Nacional e do Livro

Latin

Etymology 1

Borrowed with an unspelled /h/ from Punic 𐤅‎𐤇 (ḥawe, “live!”, 2sg. imp.), cognate to Hebrew חוה (“Chava, the biblical Eve”), and as avō from Punic [script needed] (ḥawū, 2pl. imp.), from Semitic root ḥ-w-y (live). The form might have been contaminated by Etymology 2, especially as the latter one's long vowel also ended up short via iambic shortening; this would explain the reluctance to spell the aspirate, as well as its interpretation as a verb form. Attested since Plautus.

Alternative forms

• havē̆, avo

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈha.weː], [ˈha.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.ve]
• Note: around the 1st c. A.D., the current pronunciation remained the etymological havĕ, with the long-vowel unaspirated form possible as a literary affectation, or as a poetic license.

Interjection

avē̆

1. hail, hello, farewell, greetings! (a formal expression of greeting)

   Synonym: (h)avētō

   Avē̆ atque valē!

   Hail and farewell! (esp. before a long departure and as a last good-bye to the dead).

   Avē̆ imperātor, moritūrī tē salūtant!

   Hail, commander, the ones going to their deaths salute you!

   Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.

   Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Usage notes

• Outside of grammarians, the plural (h)avēte is attested only once in Apuleius, who is known for affecting archaisms. This suggests that this greeting didn't usually inflect for number, reflecting it originally being an interjection and not a verbal form; nevertheless, it was eventually widely interpreted as the latter.
• The other verbal forms cited by grammarians are the future imperative avētō tū, ille (“greetings to you, him”) etc., and the infinitive in the circumlocution avēre tē volō (after the same use with valēre and the very rare salvēre).

Derived terms

• (h)avētō
• Ave Marīa

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.weː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.ve]

Verb

avē

1. second-person singular present imperative of aveō

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.ve]

Noun

ave m

1. vocative singular of avus

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈa.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.ve]

Noun

ave f

1. ablative singular of avis

References

• “avē, havē” in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (TLL Open Access), Berlin (formerly Leipzig): De Gruyter (formerly Teubner), 1900–present

Further reading

• “ave”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• "ave", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈave/

Verb

ave

1. inflection of avvit:
   1. present indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular imperative
   3. imperative connegative

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin ave (“hail!”).

Noun

ave n (definite singular avet, indefinite plural aver, definite plural ava or avene)

1. An Ave Maria

References

• “ave” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Eva, eva, vea

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin ave (“hail!”).

Noun

ave n (definite singular avet, indefinite plural ave, definite plural ava)

1. An Ave Maria

References

• “ave” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Eva, eva, vea

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Latin avis (“bird”), from Proto-Italic *awis (“bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis (“bird”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.βe/

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. bird
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 124 (facsimile):

     aue nen beſta dele non comiu per ren.

     Neither bird nor beast would eat him for anything.

Descendants

• Galician: ave
• Portuguese: ave

Etymology 2

From Latin avē (“hail”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.βe/, /a.ˈβɛ/

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. hail (introduces a formal greeting)
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de Toledo, cantiga 60 (facsimile):

     Entre aue eua gran departimenta.

     (Entre Av'e Eva gran departiment'a)

     Between ave and Eve there is a great difference.

Descendants

• Galician: ave
• Portuguese: ave

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Punic 𐤅‎𐤇 (w‎ḥ)bor.

Latin avē̆ubor.

Polish ave

Unadapted borrowing from Latin avē̆.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.vɛ/
• Rhymes: -avɛ
• Syllabification: a‧ve

Interjection

ave

1. (literary) ave (reverential salutation)

Further reading

• “ave”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese ave (“bird”), from Latin avis (“bird”), from Proto-Italic *awis (“bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis (“bird”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vɨ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vɨ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bɨ/ [ˈa.βɨ]

• Rhymes: -avi, -avɨ
• Hyphenation: a‧ve
• Homophone: Ave

Noun

ave f (plural aves, diminutive avezinha, augmentative avezona)

1. bird

   Synonym: pássaro

   Todas as aves têm asas. ― All birds have wings.

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: avi

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese ave, from Latin avē (“hail”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vɛ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vɛ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bɛ/ [ˈa.βɛ]

• Hyphenation: a‧ve

Interjection

ave!

1. hail (introduces a formal greeting)

   Synonym: salve

   Ave César!

   Hail Caesar!

2. clipping of ave Maria

Derived terms

• afe
• ave Maria

Further reading

• “ave”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “ave”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ave.

Interjection

ave

1. ave (salutation)

References

• ave in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Sardinian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈabe/, [ˈäː.β̞ɛ]

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. (Nuorese) alternative form of ae

   Synonyms: achedda, puzone

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈabe/ [ˈa.β̞e]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -abe
• Syllabification: a‧ve

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis

Proto-Italic *awis

Latin avis

Latin -em

Latin avem

Old Spanish ave

Spanish ave

Inherited from Old Spanish ave, from Latin avem, from Proto-Italic *awim, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwim.

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. bird

   Synonym: (especially small birds) pájaro

2. (Chile) fowl, poultry

Usage notes

• Before feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like ave, the singular definite article takes the form of el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el ave. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al ave, del ave.

This also applies to the indefinite article, which takes the form of un, which is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una also occurs): un ave or una ave. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) are used: la mejor ave, una buena ave.

• In these cases, el and un are not masculine but feminine, deriving from Latin illa and una, respectively, even though they are identical in form to the corresponding masculine singular articles. Thus, they are allomorphs of the feminine singular articles la and una.
• The use of these allomorphs does not change the gender agreement of the adjectives modifying the feminine noun: el ave única, un(a) ave buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.
• Ave is also the scientific term, while pájaro is used more in common speech for the smaller birds.

Hyponyms

• See also Category:es:Birds.

Derived terms

• ave acuática (“water bird”)
• ave cantora (“songbird”)
• ave de corral (“poultry”)
• ave de percha
• ave del paraíso (“bird of paradise”)
• ave lira
• ave marina (“sea bird”)
• ave martillo
• ave migratoria, ave de paso, ave pasajera (“migratory bird”)
• ave nocturna
• ave pasajera
• ave rapaz, ave de rapiña, ave rapiega (“bird of prey”)
• ave zancuda (“wading bird”)
• avecilla
• avefría (“lapwing”)
• avestruz (“ostrich”)
• aviar
• nido de ave

Related terms

• aviario

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Punic 𐤅‎𐤇 (w‎ḥ)bor.

Latin avēder.

Old Spanish ave

Spanish ave

Inherited from Old Spanish ave, from Latin avē (“hello, hail”).

Interjection

ave

1. (used when coming into a house) hello, hail

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

Spanish Alta Velocidad Españolader.

Spanish AVEder.

Spanish ave

From the acronym AVE (Alta Velocidad Española), meaning high-speed train (written mostly all caps).

Noun

ave f (plural aves)

1. (Spain) high-speed train

   Cogeremos el ave el día 23 por la tarde.

   We will take the train on the 23rd in the afternoon.

Further reading

• “ave”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tolai

Alternative forms

• avet (when not preceding a verb)

Pronoun

ave

1. First-person exclusive plural pronoun: they (many) and I, them (many) and me

Declension

Tolai personal pronouns

	singular	dual	paucal	plural
1st person exclusive	iau	amir mir	amital mital	avet ave1
1st person inclusive	-	dor	datal	dat da1
2nd person	u	amur mur	amutal mutal	avat ava1
3rd person	ia i	dir di	dital	diat dia1

¹⁾ The plural pronouns lose the final -t when preceding a verb.

Venetan

Noun

ave

1. plural of ava