Ciao

[Cacasenno]

Ciao

Interjection
Used to express greeting or farewell.

Ethimology
Italian, from dialectal ciau, alteration of Italian (sono vostro) schiavo, (I am your) servant, 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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

[Perry]

I never knew the etymology. Cool.

[sluggo]

Way cool indeed. Brings to mind the origin of Slavic.

In Brazil this is a common familiar social close but interestingly it's spelled tchau.

[gailr]

grazie, Cacasenno

[Cacasenno]

Prego, Gailr

I believe you are right on Slavic, Sluggo. As a notation, CIAO originated in the Republic of Venice which at one time extended all the way down the Dalmatian coast.

I reckon “CIAO” to be one of the most widely known words in the world, possibly second only to “OK”.



[quote=American Heritage]
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.”
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.[/quote]


Had a contemporary of Hemingway written a book about China (Pearl Buck perhaps?) using the word nih-how, hallo in Chinese, would nih-how today be considered a word “introduced in the English language“?
No wonder English is reputed to be the richest language in the world! It’s a phagocyte not a language

[gailr]

Every time I see this topic, I hear Eddie Izzard saying, "Ciaoooo".

[Stargzer]

... Had a contemporary of Hemingway written a book about China (Pearl Buck perhaps?) using the word nih-how, hallo in Chinese, would nih-how today be considered a word “introduced in the English language“?

Only if it had entered into general use in the language!

...No wonder English is reputed to be the richest language in the world! It’s a phagocyte not a language

Alas, like the perectly good English word niggardly (which comes from Old Norse), the Politically Ultra-Correct Left in the US would condemn your use of that word based on the first syllable.

I, however, would condemn its use because it's the wrong word to use. Phagocytes ingest and destroy foreign matter; English is just gung-ho about adopting (or adapting) any word or phrase that can add to the language.

Ding hăo!

[Stargzer]

Please note that the above post was made before Saturday's GWOTD was posted (2008-03-15). I'm not prescient, but perhaps great minds do think alike. Then again, there's always something to be said for coincidence and random chance. How else would I have gotten where I am today?

[Cacasenno]

I, however, would condemn its use because it's the wrong word to use. Phagocytes ingest and destroy foreign matter; English is just gung-ho about adopting (or adapting) any word or phrase that can add to the language.

Ding hăo!

That’s a point of view: from mine, half of my Italian has been xxxxocited by your English as most of the Good Words stand to prove. I feel deprived.

But now, looking at the glass half full, I am happy to say that I also feel proudly half bilingual She-she, 计 算 机 运 用 (jiāng jì jiù jì)!

[sluggo]

Please note that the above post was made before Saturday's GWOTD was posted (2008-03-15). I'm not prescient, but perhaps great minds do think alike. Then again, there's always something to be said for coincidence and random chance. How else would I have gotten where I am today?

The GWotD on the front page seems to be a redo, as we've had three pages of discussions in the 2006 post. The temporal confluence is pretty freaky though. Stargzer must be getting some psychic crosstalk from them thar stars

[Stargzer]

... That’s a point of view: from mine, half of my Italian has been xxxxocited by your English as most of the Good Words stand to prove. I feel deprived.

Half your Italian has been destroyed and replaced by English? Or was it absorbed by English, as, for example, by the vocabulary of music: arpeggio, presto, lento, solfeggio, and do on?

But now, looking at the glass half full,

"The Optimist sees the glass of beer as half empty; me, I drink it!"
----- Leisure Suit Larry

I am happy to say that I also feel proudly half bilingual

Half-bilingual? Is that the same as one-quarter-lingual?

... She-she, 计 算 机 运 用 (jiāng jì jiù jì)!

Computer utilization!
Stargzer utilized his computer to find the translation.