Ciao

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tʃaÊŠ/
• Rhymes: -aÊŠ
• Homophones: chow

Origin

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").

Full definition of ciao

Interjection

1. hello, hi especially US, howdy US.
2. bye, goodbye.

Synonyms

• (hello) aloha, shalom, ayubowan, privet
• (goodbye) addio, adieu, adios, aloha, arrivederci, auf Wiedersehen, au revoir, bye, bye-bye, cheerio, cheers, farewell, good-by, good-bye, goodbye, good day, sayonara, shalom, so long

Usage notes

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

Anagrams

• ICAO