ciao Italian · revision 37500

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1884, Giovanni Verga|origins=sla-pro *slověninъ}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈt͡ʃa.o/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ciao''' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|vec|s-ciao|t=slave]], the Venetian form of [[schiavo]], in the greeting ⟨s-ciao vostro⟩ “(I am) your slave”, which corresponds to the Italian formula ⟨servo suo⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Boerio's Venetian dictionary of 1829 already explains ⟨schiao⟩ (read ⟨s-ciao⟩) as a shortened ⟨schiavo⟩, a way of greeting someone with great familiarity.^(DELI 1999) The word came from northern Italy: Milanese had ⟨ciao⟩ and ⟨ciavo⟩, and Piedmontese ⟨ciao⟩ and ⟨s'ciao⟩.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|920) Mario Alinei could trace the Venetian greeting no further back than ⟨schiavo⟩ in Goldoni.^(DELI 1999) DEI and Wiktionary compare the greeting [[de|servus]] of southern Germany and central Europe, from Latin.^(DEI|920)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Venetian word comes from [[la-med|sclavus|t=slave]], from [[m|la-lat|Sclavus|t=Slav]], [[gkm|Σκλάβος|tr=Sklábos]] and ultimately [[sla-pro|*slověninъ]], because many Slavs were enslaved in the Middle Ages.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==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.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT) Zingarelli dates it to 1874 and Sabatini–Coletti to 1881, while GRADIT, Devoto–Oli and Nocentini give 1905.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==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''.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Sabatini–Coletti notes that it has become international.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) French borrowed it as ''tchao'' around 1905 and as ''ciao'' around 1950, only for leave-taking;^(DIFIT) English has ''ciavo'' in 1819, while the OED's first record is from 1929;^(DIFIT) German took it in the 20th century.^(DIFIT) Wiktionary lists borrowings in many other languages, among them [[cs|čau]] and [[gsw|tschau]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ In colloquial Italian ''e ciao'' marks something ended for good, and ''sì, ciao!'' expresses disbelief.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1819 – The form ''ciavo'' appears in an English text by Morgan.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1829 – Boerio records Venetian ''schiao''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1874 – Zingarelli's date for ''ciao''.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * 1884 – Giovanni Verga uses ''ciao''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * c. 1905 – French borrows the greeting as ''tchao''.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1929 – The OED's first record of ''ciao'' in English.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # [[m|en|hi]], [[m|en|bye]], a friendly, informal greeting on meeting or leaving someone, also at the end of letters: ''ciao Marco, tutto bene?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' In ''e ciao'', and that's that, for something ended once and for all.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' In ''sì, ciao!'', expressing [[m|en|scepticism]] or disappointment.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The greeting itself: ''mi ha mandato un ciao dalla spiaggia''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[schiavo]]

+ * [[servo]]

+ * [[de|servus]]

+ * [[fr|tchao]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare ciao'', said especially of children, is to wave goodbye by opening and closing the hand.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011) The greeting is often doubled, ''ciao ciao'', and Zingarelli records the familiar ''ciaciao''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}