Servus, and various local variants thereof, is a

salutation A salutation is a greeting used in a letter or other communication. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in an English letter is wed by the recipient's given name or title. For each style of salutation there ...

used in many parts of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

. It is a word of greeting or parting like the Italian (which also comes from the slave meaning through Venetian ). wiktionary:servus It was once common in some regions of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

but it has fallen in disuse in part of its former range. The salutation is spelled in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Bavarian, Slovak,

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

, and Czech. In

Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn language, an East Slavic l ...

and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

it is spelled , in the

Cyrillic alphabet The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking coun ...

. In

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

, the variant spelling (a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

from or ) is also used. The greeting is spelled in Hungarian and in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

. The use of in German is regional, largely to South Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and South Tirol. In the last two it is also spelled .

Etymology

These words originate from , the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word for servant or slave. ( is also the origin of the word "

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develo ...

".) The phrase is an

ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...

of a Latin expression , meaning "

our Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a government utility regula ...

most humble servant, ynoble lord". Nevertheless, no trace of subservience is implied in its modern use, which has only the cliché force of "at your service".

Usage

Use of this expression is roughly coincident with the boundaries of the former

. It is especially popular in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

(mostly in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

), as well as in southern parts of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Palatinate Palatinate or county palatine may refer to: *the territory or jurisdiction of a count palatine United Kingdom and Ireland *County palatine in England and Ireland * Palatinate (award), student sporting award of Durham University *Palatinate (col ...

, middle and southern

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

), northern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, eastern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

(mostly in Slovenian Styria), and western

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. It may be rarely used in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

(where it is considered an

archaism In language, an archaism (from the grc, ἀρχαϊκός, ''archaïkós'', 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately , ''archaîos'', 'from the beginning, ancient') is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a hi ...

, not used in common speech). The word may be used as a

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...

, a parting salutation, or as both, depending on the region and context. Despite its formal origins, is now used as an informal greeting in

Südtirol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, and

. In Hungarian, several shortened versions of remain popular, like , , , and .

References

Entry
servus
in the ''Cambridge German-English Dictionary''. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Peter Kreuder, Harry Hilm, and Hans Lengsfelder (1936): Song
Sag'beim Abschied leise Servus
' ("Say softly servus at the farewell"). Telefunken. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Entry
servus
in the ''Glosbe Online Dictionary'', Slovak-English section. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Entry
servus
in the ''Glosbe Online Dictionary'', Romanian-English section. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Entry
servus
in the ''Glosbe Online Dictionary'', Czech-English section. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Entry
szervusz
in the ''Glosbe Online Dictionary'', Hungarian-English section. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Entry
serwus
in the ''Glosbe Online Dictionary'', Polish-English section. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Nikica Kalogjera, Ivan Kušan (1969): Song
Serbus Zagreb
'. Felix Smith (2020):
Usage of the word 'servus'
. Post to Reddit's section /r/MapPorn. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Robert List (2007): Song
Griaß di Madl, servas Bua
'. Gerhard Maier (2020):
...und Servas die Buam!
. Article about

Heinz Conrads Heinz Conrads (December 21, 1913 – April 9, 1986) was an Austrian actor, radio and television host, and Wienerlied performer. He appeared in more than thirty films during his career including the 1947 historical '' It's Only Love''. Selected fi ...

's radio show. Story.One website, dated 2020-12-20. Accessed on 2022-08-14. Lyudmila Pustelnyk (2019):
Pittsburg. М’яке серце Сталевого Мiста
("Pittsburgh. The soft heart of the Steel City"). ''Ukrainian People Magazine'', 2019-06-04. Quote: "''Про те ж саме думалося трохи згодом, у залах музею Ендi Ворхола. “Сервус, пане Вархола!”''" ("The same thing was thought a little later, in the halls of the Andy Warhol museum. "Servus, Mr. Varhola!") Плач Єремії/Cry of Jeremiah (1997):
Сервус, пане Воргол
("Goodbye, Mr. Vorgol"). Video of live concert in Ivano-Frankivsk. 1997-05-21. Accessed on 2022-08-14. {{cite web, url=http://www.nyest.hu/hirek/latin-szolgak, title=Latin szolgák, website=Nyelv és Tudomány, author=Kálmán László, date=7 September 2010 Greeting words and phrases Parting phrases