salve

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin salvē (“be well!, hail!”), the imperative singular of salveō (“to be well, be in good health”), used in Latin as a greeting.^[2][3][4][1] The verb is formed on salvus (“safe, sound”), the source of salvo.^[2][3][5] The OLD allows two explanations of the Latin interjection: either the adverb salvē (“well”) taken as an imperative, or the imperative of a verb formed with ⟨-eō⟩ from the adjective.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Lorenzo Strozzi, in the 16th century, and GDLI quotes his verse “Salve, mia speme, unica mia salute” (hail, my hope, my only salvation).^[2][7] DEI dated the word to Dante, but DELI could not find it there.^[2] Zingarelli gives 1521 and GRADIT 1723.^[8][4]

Semantic evolution

For a long time the word belonged to poetry and solemn address: Tommaseo calls it a Latin word used mostly in verse, meaning “God save you, welcome, good day”, and quotes Salvini's Homeric hymns and Manzoni.^[9] The poets greeted places and causes with it, as Carducci's Salve, Umbria verde.^[10][8] In 1905 Panzini noted it as a hospitable greeting, “renewing an old courtesy”, written on the thresholds of many modern houses.^[2] Today it is an everyday greeting, friendly and fairly neutral, used both on meeting and on leaving.^[10][11][12] It also begins the Marian prayer Salve Regina.^[4][10]

Timeline

• 16th century – Lorenzo Strozzi uses salve as a greeting.^[2]
• 1521 – Zingarelli's date of first record.^[8]
• 1905 – Panzini notes salve written on the thresholds of houses.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. hello, hi: a friendly greeting used on meeting or leaving someone: Salve, da quanto tempo!^[4][10][12]
2. (literary) hail: a solemn greeting to a person, a place or an idea.^[10][11][8]

Noun

1. A greeting (masculine, invariable): Mi ha fatto un salve distratto.^[4][12]

Related words

• salvo
• salute
• salvare
• Latin salvus

Usage notes

Two minor words share the spelling.^[4][13] Salve as a feminine noun is the Salve Regina, which DEI records from Dante.^[13][7] Salve is also a common but incorrect form of salva, a volley of gunfire, used as an invariable feminine noun.^[4][14]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
12. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3326
14. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana