servus

What it means

1. 1.

   Hello and goodbye, in Bavaria and Austria. It works in both directions, which surprises learners who meet it as a greeting and then hear it again as someone leaves.

2. 2.

   Informal in register: you say it to friends, colleagues you are on du terms with, and the landlord of your local — not to a stranger in a bank.

Literally: Servant (Latin).

Examples with translations

• Servus, wie schaut's?

  Hi, how's things?

• Servus, bis morgen!

  See you, till tomorrow!

Where it comes from

A shortening of the Latin courtesy formula servus humillimus, 'your most humble servant', which circulated in the Habsburg lands and stuck in the Bavarian-Austrian area long after the rest of German-speaking Europe dropped it. The same Latin route gave Czech servus and Hungarian szervusz.

First attested: 18th century

Other forms

Similar terms:

grüß dich, pfiat di