ciao

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word ciao. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word ciao, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say ciao in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word ciao you have here. The definition of the word ciao will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofciao, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian ciao (“hello, goodbye”), from Venetian ciao (“hello, goodbye, your (humble) servant”), from Venetian s-ciao / s-ciavo (“servant, slave”), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav, slave”), related also to Italian schiavo, English Slav, slave and Old Venetian S-ciavón ("Slav"), from Latin Sclavonia (“Slavonia”). Not related to Vietnamese chào (“hello, goodbye”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃaʊ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊ
  • Homophone: chow

Interjection

ciao

  1. Hello, hi.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hello
  2. Bye, goodbye.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:goodbye

Translations

hello — see hello
goodbye — see goodbye

Noun

ciao (plural ciaos)

  1. A greeting or farewell using the word "ciao".
    • 2010, Robert V. Camuto, Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey, page 16:
      […] he excused himself, disappearing in a cloud of ciaos and operatic Italian.
    • 2007, Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, Bahamas For Dummies, page 196:
      You hear more ciaos than hellos. Guests play bocce ball on the beach and dine on Italian and some Bahamian cuisine. Because of its strong Continental overlay, the cuisine is better here than at your typical Grand Bahama hotel.

Usage notes

In UK and in US usage, ciao is considered pretentious by some.

Further reading

Anagrams

Bavarian

Interjection

ciao

  1. (Sappada) hello, hi, ciao

References

  • Umberto Patuzzi, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar, Luserna: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien.

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian ciao (“hello, goodbye”), from Venetian ciao (“hello, goodbye; your (humble) servant”), from Venetian s-ciao (“servant, slave”) or s-ciavo (“servant, slave”), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“Slav, slave”), related also to Italian schiavo, Italian Slav, slave and Old Venetian S-ciavón (“Slav”), from Latin Sclavonia (“Slavonia”).

Pronunciation

Interjection

ciao

  1. ciao
    Synonyms: adieu, au revoir, salut, tschüs

Further reading

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian ciao from Venetian ciao, ultimately from Latin sclavus. Doublet of Sklave and Slawe.

Pronunciation

Interjection

ciao

  1. ciao

Further reading

  • “ciao” in Duden online
  • “ciao” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Interlingua

Etymology

From Italian ciao (“hello, goodbye”).

Pronunciation

Interjection

ciao

  1. ciao

Synonyms

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Venetian s-ciao, sciavo (“slave”) (in particular the expression s-ciao vostro (literally “(I am) your slave”), in essence meaning "I am at your service", or "your humble servant"), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”) (whence also standard Italian schiavo); in the Venetian language originally pronounced /stʃaʊ/. Development and use is similar to the Southern German and Central European greeting of servus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃa.o/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ao
  • Hyphenation: cià‧o

Interjection

ciao

  1. hello!
    Synonyms: salve (formal), buongiorno
  2. goodbye!
    Synonyms: arrivederla (formal), arrivederci, ci vediamo (colloquial)
    • Early 1940s, written by an unknown Italian partisan, Bella Ciao (Goodbye, beautiful!):
      È questo il fiore del partigiano,
      o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
      È questo il fiore del partigiano,
      morto per la libertà!
      This is the flower of the partisan,
      Oh beautiful, goodbye! Beautiful, goodbye! Beautiful, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
      This is the flower of the partisan,
      Who died for freedom!

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Anagrams

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Italian ciao, from Venetian sciavo (“slave”), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”), from Late Latin Sclavus (“Slav”) (as Slavs were often forced into slavery in the Middle Ages), from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos), from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ. Doublet of slave and slaver.

Interjection

ciao

  1. ciao

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Italian ciao, from Venetian sciavo (“slave”), from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”). This in turn is from Late Latin Sclavus (“Slav”), from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos), from Proto-Slavic *slověninъ, as Slavs were often forced into slavery in the Middle Ages. Doublet of slave and slavar.

Interjection

ciao

  1. ciao
    Synonyms: adjø, farvel

Romanian

Romanian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ro

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian ciao.

Pronunciation

Interjection

ciao!

  1. Hello!
  2. Goodbye!

Spanish

Interjection

ciao

  1. Alternative spelling of chao
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia