Ciao
- For the shōjo manga magazine, see Ciao (magazine).
The word ciao (in English, /tʃaʊ/) is an informal Italian verbal salutation or greeting, meaning either "goodbye" or "hello".
Originally from the Venetian language, it was adopted by Italian and eventually entered the vocabulary of English and of many other languages around the world. Presently, the word is mostly used as "goodbye" in English, but in other languages it may mean "hello", "goodbye", or both.
Etymology
The word originated as a contraction of "s-ciào vostro", (or "Sono vostro schiavo" in Italian) literally meaning "I am your slave". This greeting is analogous to the Latin Servus which is still used in a large section of central/eastern Europe by people in Hungary, Romania, Austria, Slovakia and Bavaria (Southern Germany), this in the native language of each speaker.
The word s-ciào is still used in Venetian (chiefly in Slovenia and Croatia where Venetian descendants are disaffected by the Italianization of Venetian culture) as an exclamation of resignation in unavoidable situations.
Spread
The Venetian greeting, shortened to ciào, soon lost all its servile connotations, and came to be used as an informal salutation by speakers of all classes. It was adopted by the Italian language, with the spelling ciao, presumably during the golden days of the Venetian Republic. It has since spread to many countries in Europe, along with other items of the Italian culture. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the salute spread to the Americas—especially Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina—largely by way of Italian immigrants. Ernest Hemingway is credited with bringing the word into the English language.
Usage as greeting
In contemporary Italian usage, ciao is interchangeable for both hello and goodbye, much as aloha in Hawaii or shalom in Israel. In other countries it has come to have more specific meanings. The following list summarizes the spelling and uses of this salutation in various languages and countries.
- Bosnian: ćao
- Bulgarian чао (transliterated as chao; "goodbye")
- Croatian: ćao
- Czech: čau ("hello" or "goodbye")
- English: ciao ("goodbye")
- Esperanto: "ĉaŭ" ("goodbye", rarely "hello")
- French: ciao ("goodbye")
- German: ciao, sometimes tschau ("goodbye")
- Italian: ciao ("hello" or "goodbye")
- Latvian: čau ("hello" or "goodbye")
- Macedonian: чао ("goodbye")
- Maltese: ċaw ("goodbye"); also ċaw ċaw ("bye bye")
- Portuguese, esp. in Brazil: tchau ("goodbye"); also diminutive tchauzinho
- Romanian: ciao or rarely ciau ("goodbye", less frequently "hello")
- Serbian: ћао or ćao ("goodbye", frequently "hello") - (this developed into to ћаос оr ćaos).
- Slovak: čau ("goodbye", less frequently "hello")
- Slovene: čao
- Spanish, esp. in Latin America: chau or chao ("goodbye")
- Venetian: ciào ("hello" or "goodbye")
Uses as titles and names
The greeting has also often been used as a name:
- Ciao, a leading girls' anime and manga magazine published by Shogakukan; see Ciao (magazine).
- Ciao, an e-commerce site; see Ciao (shopping comparison portal).
- Ciao, the 1990 FIFA World Cup mascot.
- Ciao Bella, an international gelato and sorbet company.
- Bella ciao, the title of a famous Italian partisan song.
- Piaggio Ciao.
See also