Etymologically
Log in

salveo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 01:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsaɫ.we.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsal.ve.o][1]

Forms

salveō (present infinitive salvēre); second conjugation, no passive, no perfect or supine stems[1] Besides salvē the imperative has salvēte and salvētō, and the infinitive is common in salvēre iubeō.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from salvus (“safe, well”) with the stative suffix -eō;[1][2][3] Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Italic *salawēō, and de Vaan reconstructs a Proto-Italic ⟨*salw-ē-⟩ “to be well”.[1][4] The OLD hesitates whether the greeting is this verb or the adverb salvē (“safely”) taken as an imperative.[2] De Vaan traces ⟨salvus⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *slH-u- (“whole”), and compares Faliscan salue (“greet!”) and Oscan salavs (“safe”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates salvē from Naevius,[4] who has the exchange “rival, hello!” – “what's this ‘hello’?”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short find the verb in the sense “to be well” in finite forms only once, in a play on words; otherwise it is a greeting.[3] Salvē is “hello!”, used in solemn addresses as “hail!”, as Ennius' Acherūsia templa alta Orcī salvēte īnfera, and salvēre iubeō is to greet, as in Plautus' Asinaria.[2] It is also said at parting, “farewell!”, as Plautus' valē atque salvē.[2][1] Church Latin glosses it “be well”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius has salvē as a greeting.[2][4][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has salvēre iubeō and valē atque salvē.[2][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius in a solemn address to the underworld.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To be well, be in good health.[3][1][6]
  2. (imperative) salvē!, salvēte!: hello!, good day!; hail![2][1]
  3. salvēre iubeō: to greet, bid good day.[2]
  4. (at parting) Farewell![2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d 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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson