Ave

This article is about the Roman salutation. For other uses, see AVE (disambiguation).

"HAVE" Mosaic outside the House of the Faun, Pompeii (Have is a spelling variant of Ave).

Ave is a Latin word, used by the Romans as a salutation and greeting, meaning "hail". It is the singular imperative form of the verb avēre, which meant "to be well"; thus one could translate it literally as "be well" or "farewell".

The Classical Latin pronunciation of ave was [ˈaweː] or [ˈaßeː]. In Church Latin, it is ideally [ˈave], and in English, it tends to be pronounced /ˈɑːveɪ/.

The term was notably used to greet the Caesar or other authorities. Suetonius recorded that on one occasion, naumachiarii—captives and criminals fated to die fighting during mock naval encounters—addressed Caesar with the words Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant! ("Hail, Caesar! Those who are about to die salute you!") in an attempt to avoid death. The expression is not recorded as being used in Roman times on any other occasion.

The Vulgate version of the Annunciation translates the salute of the angel to Mary, Mother of Jesus as Ave Maria, gratia plena ("Hail Mary, full of grace"). Ave Maria is a Catholic Marian prayer that also has inspired authors of religious music.

Fascist regimes during the 20th century also adopted the greeting. It was also distinctly used during the National Socialist Third Reich in the indirect German translation, heil.

See also

• Roman salute
• Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant