zdravo

Etymology

From zdrav ("healthy, sane, sound"). The greeting stems from the expression used to wish the interlocutor good health. Compare the semantics of French salut, Italian salve, Greek γεια (geia) (etymologically), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (hails), and Russian здравствуйте (zdravstvujte) as greetings. Cognate e.g. with Bulgarian здраво (zdravo), здрав (zdrav), Macedonian здраво (zdravo), Old Church Slavonic ⱄⱏⰴⱃⰰⰲⱏ (sŭdravŭ), Polish zdrowy, Old Novgorodian съторове (sŭtorove), Russian здоро́вый (zdoróvyj), здра́вый (zdrávyj), здоро́во (zdoróvo).