ciao
interjectionnouncommon in dialogue
- //t͡ʃaʊ//
Hello, hi.
interjection
- 1
Hello, hi.
- 2
Bye, goodbye.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian ciao (“hello, goodbye”), from Venetan ciao (“hello, goodbye, your (humble) servant”), from Venetan s-ciao / s-ciavo (“servant, slave”), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav, slave”), related also to Italian schiavo, English Slav, slave and Old Venetan S-ciavón (“Slav”), from Latin Sclavus, ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ. Not related to Vietnamese chào (“hello, goodbye”). Doublet of Slav and slave.
noun
- 1
A greeting or farewell using the word "ciao".
[…] he excused himself, disappearing in a cloud of ciaos and operatic Italian.
You hear more ciaos than hellos. Guests play bocce ball on the beach and dine on Italian and some Bahamian cuisine. Because of its strong Continental overlay, the cuisine is better here than at your typical Grand Bahama hotel.
Forms
- plural
- ciaos