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Ciao is only four letters long , yet people far beyond Italy use it . In Italy , it means both hello and goodbye . Its origin , however , is a surprise . The word began in Venice , where people spoke Venetian . A polite greeting there was s - ciào vostro , which meant " I am your slave " . It was a polite formula , a way of offering to serve someone , not a literal statement . The key word is s - ciào , the Venetian word for " slave " . It comes from sclavus , a word of medieval Latin . Sclavus is probably linked to the name of the Slavs , because many Slavs were enslaved in the early Middle Ages . The English word " slave " has the same root . Over the years , speakers dropped vostro , and the opening sound of s - ciào wore away until only ciao remained . At the same time , the idea of service faded , and ciao became a casual greeting among friends . For a long time , the word stayed mostly in the north of Italy . The exact dates are uncertain , but ciao reached the rest of the country mainly in the 20th century . Today Italians usually keep it for friends , family and children , and choose a more formal greeting with strangers . English borrowed the word around 1929 , and many other languages have since done the same . So ciao is still only four letters long , but it carries a long history . It began as a formal promise of service , and today it is simply a friendly hello . 
