saluto

Forms

salūtō (present infinitive salūtāre, perfect active salūtāvī, supine salūtātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from salūs (“health, safety; greeting”) with the verb suffix -ō: “to wish health to”.^[2][3] De Vaan puts ⟨salūs⟩ with salvus (“safe, whole”), from Proto-Italic *salu- (“whole, healthy”) and Proto-Indo-European *slH-u- (“whole”); cognate with Oscan salavs (“safe, whole”) and Umbrian saluom (“safe, whole”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's first author is Naevius.^[4] In a fragment of his historical play the king of Veii greets the Alban king: rēx Vēiēns rēgem salūtat Vibe Albānum Amūlium.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to greet or hail, also gods in worship (Plautus: “I'll just greet the gods”), places and things, and with a predicate to hail someone as something, as Octavian's followers called him Caesar (Cicero).^[2] At Rome it is above all the morning call on a patron or great man to pay one's respects, and of the patron receiving such callers.^[2] Statius uses it of saluting at parting.^[2] Lewis and Short also record the sense of keeping safe or preserving, of vine shoots.^[5]

Church Latin glosses it “salute, greet, keep safe, preserve”.^[6] English salute (late 14th century) is from it, in part through Old French.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of a king greeting a king.^[4][2][7]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of greeting the gods.^[2][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of the morning call on a consul.^[2][7]
• late 14th century – English salute.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To greet, hail, salute; to hail as.^[2][1][6]
2. To call on (a patron or great man) to pay one's respects, (of a patron) to receive callers.^[2][1]
3. To bid farewell to.^[2][1]
4. To keep safe, preserve.^[5][1][6]

Word family

• cōnsalūtō
• īnsalūtātus
• obsalūtō
• persalūtō
• resalūtō
• salūtābundus
• salūtātiō
• salūtātīvus
• salūtātor
• salūtātōrius
• salūtātrīx
• salūtātōrium

Related words

• salūbris
• salūbritās
• salūs
• salūtāris
• salūtifer
• salvē
• English salute

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de