ciao

Forms

ciao (invariable)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Venetian s-ciao (“slave”), the Venetian form of schiavo, in the greeting ⟨s-ciao vostro⟩ “(I am) your slave”, which corresponds to the Italian formula ⟨servo suo⟩.^[3][4][5][1] Boerio's Venetian dictionary of 1829 already explains ⟨schiao⟩ (read ⟨s-ciao⟩) as a shortened ⟨schiavo⟩, a way of greeting someone with great familiarity.^[3] The word came from northern Italy: Milanese had ⟨ciao⟩ and ⟨ciavo⟩, and Piedmontese ⟨ciao⟩ and ⟨s'ciao⟩.^[3][6] Mario Alinei could trace the Venetian greeting no further back than ⟨schiavo⟩ in Goldoni.^[3] DEI and Wiktionary compare the greeting German servus of southern Germany and central Europe, from Latin.^[6][1]

The Venetian word comes from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”), from Sclavus (“Slav”), Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos) and ultimately Proto-Slavic *slověninъ, because many Slavs were enslaved in the Middle Ages.^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is the form ciavo in an English text of 1819 by Morgan, and ciao itself in Giovanni Verga in 1884.^[3][7] Zingarelli dates it to 1874 and Sabatini–Coletti to 1881, while GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Nocentini give 1905.^{[8][9][5][10][4]}

Semantic evolution

From the north the greeting spread over the whole of Italy, and it is now used both on meeting and on parting, among people who address each other as tu.^[3][9] Sabatini–Coletti notes that it has become international.^[9] French borrowed it as tchao around 1905 and as ciao around 1950, only for leave-taking;^[7] English has ciavo in 1819, while the OED's first record is from 1929;^[7] German took it in the 20th century.^[7] Wiktionary lists borrowings in many other languages, among them Czech čau and Alemannic German tschau.^[1]

In colloquial Italian e ciao marks something ended for good, and sì, ciao! expresses disbelief.^[5][10]

Timeline

• 1819 – The form ciavo appears in an English text by Morgan.^[3]
• 1829 – Boerio records Venetian schiao.^[3]
• 1874 – Zingarelli's date for ciao.^[8]
• 1884 – Giovanni Verga uses ciao.^[3]
• c. 1905 – French borrows the greeting as tchao.^[7]
• 1929 – The OED's first record of ciao in English.^[7]

Meanings

Interjection

1. hi, bye, a friendly, informal greeting on meeting or leaving someone, also at the end of letters: ciao Marco, tutto bene?^[5][10][8]
2. (colloquial) In e ciao, and that's that, for something ended once and for all.^[5][10][8]
3. (colloquial) In sì, ciao!, expressing scepticism or disappointment.^[5][10]

Noun

1. The greeting itself: mi ha mandato un ciao dalla spiaggia.^[9][2][10]

Related words

• schiavo
• servo
• German servus
• French tchao

Usage notes

Fare ciao, said especially of children, is to wave goodbye by opening and closing the hand.^[5][2] The greeting is often doubled, ciao ciao, and Zingarelli records the familiar ciaciao.^[9][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 920
7. ^ a b c d e f Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
10. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier