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.
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.
Umberto Patuzzi, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar, Luserna: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien.
Borrowed from Venetans-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 Latinsclavus(“slave”) (whence also standard Italian schiavo); in the Venetan language originally pronounced /stʃaʊ/. Development and use is similar to the Southern German and Central European greeting of servus.
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!