Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Oct 20, 2002 16:21
21 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Latin term
Valete
Non-PRO
Latin to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
letter
salutation?
Proposed translations
(English)
5 +7 | Good-bye |
Joseph Brazauskas
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4 +2 | Farewell |
Juan Carlstein
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5 | Take care. |
Pierre POUSSIN
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Proposed translations
+7
58 mins
Selected
Good-bye
Lit., it means 'be well/stay strong', and its form here is present imperative active, 2nd person plural; the singular form is 'vale' It was the commonest expression for 'good-bye' in Classical Latin; 'avete' and 'ave', which mean 'be well' also, were used for both 'hello' and 'good-bye'. It's doubtful that the sense 'be well' was primary in the hearers' minds whenever someone said 'valete' or 'avete' to him or her; the speaker simply meant 'good-bye', and unless the hearer was ill, he or she probably took it as such.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ."
11 mins
Take care.
In fact "Valeo" means : "I am in good health", so, "Valete" being in the imperative mode (2nd plural) means "Keep healthy". The salutation went: "Ave atque Vale"
Ave!
Ave!
+2
2 hrs
Farewell
Declined
just another option
Comment: "I was seeking a bit more information"
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