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ciao
The definition of ciao is an Italian greeting that means hello or goodbye.
(interjection)An example of ciao is a greeting used when you say goodbye: "Ciao! I'll see you tomorrow!"
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See ciao in Webster's New World College Dictionary
interjection
- hello
- goodbye
Origin: It, altered < dial. (Lombard) schiavo, lit., slave, used as transl. of Austrian servus (for “your obedient servant”)
See ciao in American Heritage Dictionary 4
interjection
Used to express greeting or farewell.
Origin:
Origin: Italian
Origin: , from dialectal ciau
Origin: , alteration of Italian (sono vostro) schiavo, (I am your) servant
Origin: , from Medieval Latin sclavus, slave, servant; see slave
. Word History: Ciao first appears in English in 1929 in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, which is set in northeast Italy during World War I. It is likely that this is where Hemingway learned the word, for ciau in Venetian dialect means “servant, slave,” and, as a casual greeting, “I am your servant.” Ciau corresponds to standard Italian schiavo; both words come from Medieval Latin sclavus, “slave.” A similar development took place with servus, the Classical Latin word for “slave,” in southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland, where servus is used as a casual greeting like ciao. At the opposite end of the world, in Southeast Asia, one even sees words meaning “slave” or “your slave” that have developed into pronouns of the first person, again to indicate respect and humility.Learn more about ciao
