''Viva'', ''vive'', and ''vivat'' are

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...

s used in the

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

. ''Viva'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

(plural ), Portuguese (plural ), and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(Also . in plural is rare), ''Vive'' in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and ''Vivat'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

(plural ) are

subjunctive The subjunctive (also known as the conjunctive in some languages) is a grammatical mood, a feature of an utterance that indicates the speaker's attitude toward it. Subjunctive forms of verbs are typically used to express various states of unrealit ...

forms of the verb "to live." Being the third-person (singular or plural agreeing with the subject), subjunctive present conjugation, the terms express a hope on the part of the speaker that another should live. Thus, they mean "(may) he/she/it/they live!" (the word "may" is implied by the subjunctive mood) and are usually translated to English as "long live." They are often used to salute a person or non-personal entity: "Vive le Québec libre" (from

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

Vive le Québec libre speech Vive may refer to: *Vive, viva, and vivat, a Romance language expression * ''Vive'' (José José album), 1974 * ''Vive'' (Lucía Méndez album), 2004 *Vive (a cappella group), a cappella group from England, United Kingdom *ViVe, a state-owned Vene ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

), or "Viva il

Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word , 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

!" the rough equivalent in

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

of the greeting, "

Heil Heil may refer to: * Heil (surname) * Heil, North Dakota, a census-designated place and unincorporated community in the United States *''Heil Hitler'', ''Sieg Heil'', a Nazi salute * Heil Sound, a manufacturer of audio and studio equipment. * Heil ...

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

." In addition, in monarchical times, the king of France would be wished "Vive le Roi!" and the king of Italy "Viva il Re!" both meaning "May the king live!" or "Long live the king!"

Overview

The acclamation "''Vivat!''" is still used in British coronations when the sovereign is hailed while processing from the quire of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

towards the coronation theatre, fronting the altar. The shouts are delivered by the King or Queen's Scholars of

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, who by tradition are the first to acclaim the sovereign at the ceremony. This was last performed when

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

was crowned in 2023; he was greeted with "''Vivat, Rex! / Vivat, Rex Carolus! / Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!''" which was incorporated into

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...

's anthem, ''

I was glad 'I was glad' () is an English text drawn from selected verses of Psalm 122. It has been used at Westminster Abbey in the Coronation of the British monarch, coronation ceremonies of British monarchs since those of Charles I of England, King Charle ...

''. The mediaeval university Latin anthem ''

De Brevitate Vitae "Gaudeamus igitur" (Latin for "So let us rejoice") or just "Gaudeamus", also known as "De brevitate vitae" ("On the Shortness of Life"), is a popular academic commercium song in many European countries, mainly sung or performed at university ...

'' has verses like: :''Vivat academia!'' :''Vivant professores!'' :''Vivat academia!'' :''Vivant professores!'' :''Vivat membrum quodlibet'' :''Vivant membra quaelibet'' :''Semper sint in flore.'' Compare ''¡Viva el rey!'' with ''¡Vivan los reyes!'' The Mexican slogan "''¡Viva Zapata!''" was used to title the 1952 English-language biographical drama film ''

Viva Zapata! ''Viva Zapata!'' is a 1952 American biographical Western film directed by Elia Kazan, dramatizing the life of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata from his peasant upbringing through his rise to power in the early 1900s and his death in 1919. I ...

'' by Elia Kazan, about

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

. It later inspired the title of 2005 Italian-language documentary film ''

Viva Zapatero! ''Viva Zapatero!'' is a 2005 documentary by Sabina Guzzanti telling her side of the story regarding the conflict with Silvio Berlusconi over a late-night TV political satire show broadcast on Rai 3. The show, ''RAIot'' (a play on the name of the ...

'' by Sabina Guzzanti, referring to

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

. In Italy, the nationalist phrase ''"Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re d'Italia!"'' ("Long live Victor Emmanuel king of Italy") was hidden from the Austrian enemy by its acronym ''Viva VERDI!'' that passed for a praise of the music of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

. In Italian graffiti, ''viva'' is often abbreviated as '' W'', a letter otherwise foreign to Italian. The opposite concept ''abbasso'' ("Down with") is abbreviated with an inverted '' W''. In the Philippines, (a former Spanish colony), the usage of ''¡Viva!'' has declined in the 20th century, having been replaced by the Filipino term '' Mabuhay'' and its cognates in various

Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (language ...

. Today, the expression is largely found in religious contexts (specifically, Filipino Catholicism), where it is said in fiestas to honour a manifestation of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

or a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

(e.g. "''¡Viva, Señor Santo Niño!''" "''¡Viva la Virgen de Peñafrancia!''").

Other and similar uses

The use of these terms has increased in non-Latin nations recently; for example, a common greeting regarding the Anglophone city of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

is "

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...

!" One reason may be that

West Germanic languages The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...

do not have a good equivalent of the term; the closest equivalent may be Heil in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, which has Nazi-tainted connotations, or Hail or Wassail in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. Nevertheless, Hail still appears in certain previously frozen expressions and usages, for example the prayer

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

and the song

Hail to the Chief "Hail to the Chief" is a piece originally announcing arrival by boat at an island in a Scottish loch, but today it is best known as the personal anthem of the president of the United States, adapted by James Sanderson from an original Scottis ...

. A similar expression is ' Zindabad' used in Hindustani,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, it means roughly "Long live" and is used as a patriotic sentiment glorifying leaders and countries e.g. '

Pakistan Zindabad Pakistan Zindabad (, ) is a patriotic slogan used by Pakistanis in displays of Pakistani nationalism. The phrase became popular among the Muslims of British Raj, British India after the 1933 publication of the "Pakistan Declaration" by Choudhry ...

' or '

Bangladesh Zindabad Bangladesh Zindabad ( — , ) is a slogan used by Bangladeshis as an expression of patriotism and often used in political speeches and cricket matches. Its use started even before the creation of Bangladesh, during the East Pakistan, period of Unit ...

'. On 25 July 2005, upon winning his seventh consecutive

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

and subsequently retiring from professional

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

ended his farewell speech with "Vive le Tour, forever".

References

{{Reflist Vivat Viva Viva Viva

Vive Vive may refer to: *Vive, viva, and vivat, a Romance language expression * ''Vive'' (José José album), 1974 * ''Vive'' (Lucía Méndez album), 2004 *Vive (a cappella group) Vive was a six-part a cappella group from England, United Kingdom. ...

Interjections

Overview

Other and similar uses

See also

References