Ave

Etymology

is likely borrowed with an unspelled /h/ from Punic ('live!', . .) The form might have been influenced by , the second-person singular present imperative of (first-person ), meaning 'to be well/to fare well'. Indeed, its long vowel also ended up short via iambic shortening; this would explain the reluctance to spell the aspirate, as well as its interpretation as a verb form.

The word has been attested since Plautus.

Use

The Classical Latin pronunciation of is (). As of the 1st century AD the greeting in general use across all classes of society had the form (pronounced or perhaps ), with the aspirated initial syllable and the second syllable shortened, for which the most explicit description has been given by Quintilian in his . While would be grammatically improper in part because it has the "non-etymological" aspiration, centuries later all aspiration would instead disappear from popular speech, becoming a learned feature.

in Ecclesiastical Latin is , and in English, it tends to be pronounced .

The term was notably used to greet the Caesar or other authorities. Suetonius recorded that on one occasion, naumachiarii—captives and criminals fated to die fighting during mock naval encounters—addressed Claudius Caesar with the words "" ('Hail, Caesar! Those who are about to die salute you!') in an attempt to avoid death. The expression is not recorded as being used in Roman times on any other occasion.

The Vulgate version of the Annunciation translates the salute of the angel to Mary, Mother of Jesus as "" ('Hail, full of grace'). The phrase "Hail Mary" () is a Catholic Marian prayer that has inspired authors of religious music.

Fascist regimes during the 20th century also adopted the greeting. It was also distinctly used during the National Socialist Third Reich in the indirect German translation, .

is not to be confused with Latin as the vocative singular of , meaning 'grandfather/forebear', or as the ablative singular of meaning 'bird'.

See also

References