Etymologically
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arrivederci

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Pronunciation

  • /ar.ri.veˈder.t͡ʃi/[1]

Etymology

It is the phrase a rivederci, “until we see each other again”, written as one word: from Italian a (“to”) + rivedere (“to see again”) + ci (“us”).[2][3][1][4] Zingarelli reads it as short for “(goodbye) until we see each other again”.[4] Other languages say the same with their own words, as in French au revoir, German auf Wiedersehen, Romanian la revedere and Catalan a reveure.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and Zingarelli date the word to 1533 and GRADIT to about 1537.[3][4][5] DELI's first record is a Rivederci in an English text of about 1635 by Richard Lassels, and the form written as one word only in Scipio Slataper in 1912.[2]

Semantic evolution

The formal form arrivederla, used to someone addressed as Lei, is recorded as a rivederla in 1884 and as one word in Collodi in 1887.[2] Giuseppe Giusti ended a poem of 1846 with Arrivederlo, which Pietro Fanfani explained as a popular, ironic form, while correcting those who used arrivederlo in earnest.[2]

In modern Italian arrivederci is a friendly farewell to someone one expects to see again, and also a curt way to cut short an unwelcome conversation.[5][4][6] English has used it from about 1635.[7]

Timeline

  • 1533 – First record according to Nocentini and Zingarelli.[3][4]
  • About 1635 – A Rivederci appears in an English text by Richard Lassels.[2][7]
  • 1846 – Giuseppe Giusti uses Arrivederlo.[2]
  • 1887 – Collodi writes arrivederla as one word.[2]
  • 1912 – Scipio Slataper writes arrivederci as one word.[2]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. goodbye, see you: a farewell to someone one expects to see again: Arrivederci, a lunedì![5][8][4]
  2. (colloquial) Used to break off a conversation one does not want to continue: Va bene, ho capito, arrivederci![5][4][9]

Noun

  1. The farewell itself: Ci salutammo con un arrivederci affettuoso.[5][8][4]

Word family

  • arrivederla

Usage notes

Arrivederla is the form used to someone addressed formally.[2][4] The spelling a rivederci in two words is now less common.[6][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  5. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana