The custom of greeting of ancient Rus' is mysterious and interesting.
Despite the fact that much has been lost and some rules are not observed during this ritual, the main meaning remains the same - this is a wish for health to the interlocutor!
1 Pre-Christian greetings
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet fields, rivers, forests, and clouds. People, especially young people, are told: “Go you, good fellow!" The word goy is very old, this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl’s dictionary goit means “fast, live, hello.” But there is another interpretation of the greeting “Goy Thou art!”: some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: “You are ours, of our blood.”
So, the word “goy” means “to live,” and “esi” means “to eat.” Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: “You exist now and still be alive!”
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if “goy” is “to live, life,” then “outcast” is its antonym - a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another common greeting in Rus' is “Peace to your home!” It is unusually complete and respectful, because in this way a person greets the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives. Perhaps in pre-Christian Rus', such a greeting also meant an appeal to the brownie and the god of this kind.
2 Christian greetings
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from then on, from the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: “Christ is in our midst!” - and answer: “It is and will be!” Rus''s road is Byzantium, and the ancient Greek feels almost familiar. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation “Hayrete!”, which meant “Rejoice!” - and the Russians followed them in accepting this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, this is precisely the refrain that is found in hymns to the Theotokos). Another greeting that emerged during this time was more often used when passing people at work. "God help you!" - he said then. "For the glory of God!" or "Thank God!" - they answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians to this day.
Surely not all versions of ancient greetings have reached us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always “omitted” and the characters went straight to the essence of the conversation. Only in one literary monument- the apocrypha “The Tale of Our Father Agapius” of the 13th century contains a greeting from that time, surprising in its poetry: “Walk well and you will have a good path.”
3 Kisses
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. Guests were often kissed this way - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is the kiss of the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is how those close to him greeted the sovereign (sometimes kissing not even his hand, but his foot). This kissing is also part of the priest’s blessing, which is also a greeting. In the church, they also kissed the one who had just received the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both congratulations and a greeting to a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the “formal” meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the hand of the sovereign (ambassadors from non-Christian countries were prohibited from doing so). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and he could kiss him on the head.
After the revolution and Soviet era The tradition of greetings and kisses has weakened, but is now being revived again.
4 Bows
Bowing is a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but remains in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status they still bow deeply to each other when meeting, saying goodbye and as a sign of gratitude). In Rus' it was customary to bow when meeting. But the bows were also different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.” Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. It is interesting that the gesture “from the heart to the earth” is originally Slavic, but “from the heart to the sun” is not. Placing a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility before the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the person in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
5 Hugs
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of most interesting examples- a man’s “heart to heart” hug, which, at first glance, shows the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality indicates the opposite, because this is how men checked whether a potential dangerous rival had weapons. Separate view hugs - fraternization, sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, as well as people in the church before confession. This ancient Christian tradition, helping a person tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, there were people in churches then, well knowledgeable friend friend, and among them are the offenders and the offended).
6 Handshakes and hats
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. You can tell a lot by how strong and long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship; close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and are happy to meet could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was as if he was inviting him into his circle. The hand must be “bare” - this rule has been preserved to this day. Open hand indicates trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching with the hands rather than the palms. Apparently, it was common among warriors: this is how they checked that those they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their lack of weapons. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were allowed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. This is where the Russian expression “casual acquaintance” comes from, meaning superficial acquaintance.
7 "Hello" and "Hello"
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word “hello,” for example, cannot be reduced simply to the word “health,” that is, health. Now we perceive it exactly like this: as a wish for another person to be healthy and many years life. However, the root “zdrav” and “zdrov” is found in ancient Indian, Greek, and Avestan languages.
Initially, the word “hello” consisted of two parts: “Sъ-” and “*dorvo-”, where the first meant “good”, and the second was related to the concept of “tree”. What does the tree have to do with it? For the ancient Slavs, a tree was a symbol of strength and prosperity, and such a greeting meant that a person wished another this strength, endurance and prosperity. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say “hello.” Free people, equal to each other, were allowed this, but slaves were not. The form of greeting for them was different - “I hit you with my forehead.”
The custom of greeting of ancient Rus' is mysterious and interesting.
Despite the fact that much has been lost and some rules are not observed during this ritual, the main meaning remains the same - this is a wish for health to the interlocutor!
1. Pre-Christian greetings
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet fields, rivers, forests, and clouds. People, especially young people, are told: “Hey you, good fellow!” The word goy is very old; this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl's dictionary goit means “to fast, to live, to live.” But there is another interpretation of the greeting “Go you!”: some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: “You are ours, of our blood.”
So, the word “goy” means “to live,” and “esi” means “to eat.” Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: “You exist now and still be alive!”
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if “goy” is “to live, life,” then “outcast” is its antonym - a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another common greeting in Rus' is “Peace to your home!” It is unusually complete and respectful, because in this way a person greets the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives. Perhaps in pre-Christian Rus', such a greeting also meant an appeal to the brownie and the god of this kind.
2. Christian greetings
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from then on, from the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: “Christ is in our midst!” - and answer: “It is and will be!” Byzantium is dear to Rus', and the ancient Greek language feels almost native. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation “Hayrete!”, which meant “Rejoice!” - and the Russians followed them in accepting this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, this is precisely the refrain that is found in hymns to the Theotokos). Another greeting that emerged during this time was more often used when passing people at work. "God help you!" - he said then. "For the glory of God!" or "Thank God!" - they answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians to this day.
Surely not all versions of ancient greetings have reached us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always “omitted” and the characters went straight to the essence of the conversation. Only in one literary monument - the apocrypha "The Tale of Our Father Agapius" of the 13th century is there a greeting from that time, surprising in its poetry: "Walk well and you will have a good path."
3. Kisses
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is a very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. Guests were often kissed this way - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is the kiss of the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is how those close to him greeted the sovereign (sometimes kissing not even his hand, but his foot). This kissing is also part of the priest’s blessing, which is also a greeting. In the church, they also kissed the one who had just received the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both congratulations and a greeting to a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the “formal” meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the hand of the sovereign (ambassadors from non-Christian countries were prohibited from doing so). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and he could kiss him on the head.
After the revolution and during Soviet times, the tradition of greetings and kisses weakened, but is now being revived again.
4. Bows
Bowing is a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but remains in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status still bow deeply to each other when meeting, saying goodbye, and as a sign of gratitude). In Rus' it was customary to bow when meeting. But the bows were also different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.” Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. It is interesting that the gesture “from the heart to the earth” is originally Slavic, but “from the heart to the sun” is not. Placing a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility before the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the person in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
5. Hugs
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of the most interesting examples is the male “heart to heart” hug, which, at first glance, shows the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality indicates the opposite, because this is how men checked whether a potential dangerous rival had weapons. A separate type of hug is fraternization, a sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, as well as people in the church before confession. This is an ancient Christian tradition that helps a person tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, in churches then there were people who knew each other well, and among them were offenders and offended people).
6. Handshakes and hats
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. You can tell a lot by how strong and long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship; close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and are happy to meet could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was as if he was inviting him into his circle. The hand must be “bare” - this rule has been preserved to this day. An open hand shows trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching with the hands rather than the palms. Apparently, it was common among warriors: this is how they checked that those they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their lack of weapons. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were allowed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. That's where it went from here Russian expression"casual acquaintance", meaning superficial acquaintance.
7. "Hello" and "Hello"
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word “hello,” for example, cannot be reduced simply to the word “health,” that is, health. Now we perceive it exactly like that: as a wish for another person to have health and long life. However, the root “zdrav” and “zdrov” is found in ancient Indian, Greek, and Avestan languages.
Initially, the word “hello” consisted of two parts: “Sъ-” and “*dorvo-”, where the first meant “good”, and the second was related to the concept of “tree”. What does the tree have to do with it? For the ancient Slavs, a tree was a symbol of strength and prosperity, and such a greeting meant that a person wished another this strength, endurance and prosperity. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say “hello.” Free people, equal to each other, this was allowed, but slaves were not. The form of greeting for them was different - “I hit you with my forehead.”
Researchers discovered the very first mention of the word “hello” in a chronicle dated 1057. The author of the chronicles wrote: “Hello, many summers.”
The word "hello" is easier to decipher. It also consists of two parts: “at” + “vet”. The first is found in the words “caress”, “incline” and means closeness, approaching something or someone. The second is in the words “advice”, “answer”, “news”... By saying “hello”, we show closeness (and indeed, we only address close people this way) and, as it were, convey good news to another.
Greetings from the Slavs
The custom of greeting the ancient Slavs is mysterious and interesting. Despite the fact that much has been lost and some rules are not observed during this ritual, the main meaning remains the same - it is a wish for health to the interlocutor.
One of the most famous greetings that have come down to us unchanged is - go thou. This is a wish for health to the Slav.
Goy is probably the most ancient Russian word, a word with meanings associated with life and life-giving force. In Dahl's dictionary, goit means “to fast, to live, to live.” Some researchers, based on given value interpret this formula as a kind of sign of belonging to a community, clan, tribe: “You are ours, of our blood.”
“You are a good fellow,” in all Slavic epics this is how they greet those whom they wish goodness and health. Hence the word “hello” - a wish for health to the interlocutor, which has always been a sign good manners and respect.
But if they wanted to greet the house and all its relatives, they said “Peace to your house!”, but most likely by this phrase they meant a greeting to the Domovoi, and not just as the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but as an earlier incarnation of the god Rod.
The Slavs greeted not only each other, but also various Gods. Most likely, this is where the hypothesis about the name of the Slavs comes from the word “Glorify”. But they not only praised the Gods, but always treated the surrounding nature with politeness and respect. In fairy tales and epics, this is reflected in the fact that the heroes of the works very often greet the field, river, forest, clouds.
It is also interesting that since ancient times the Slavs always greeted a respected person with a low bow to the ground, at the same time touching the ground (kissing) served as a ritual of receiving strength and grace from the earth. Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a bow from the waist, but strangers were greeted in different ways, but most often by putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down.
Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. In this case, the movement should not go towards the sun, but towards the earth. It is also interesting that the Slavic gesture is “from the Heart to the earth”, and not “to the Sun”, since it is the Mother Earth that gives life and receives the defenders of the Russian land who fell in battle - this is how the warriors of Rus' greeted their opponents.
Today at modern speech There are many greetings such as “Glory to Rod!”, “Good day”, “Be healthy!”. All these words and phrases convey warmth, care and participation in the fate of another person, the interlocutor.
To wish a person well and health, to glorify his Family and God is the first thing our ancestors did when they met. Today, not everyone remembers this custom, having switched to the already familiar: “Hello!” And it's worth remembering sacred meaning a greeting used by our forefathers. Hello!
Everyone knows that “hello” is a wish for health. Greetings “Hello”, “Zdorovenki Buly” and many others - also a wish of health to the interlocutor. This is a sign of good manners and respect. The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word “hello,” for example, cannot be reduced simply to the word “health,” that is, health. The root of “zdrav” and “zdrov” is found in ancient Indian, Greek, and Avestan languages. Initially, the word “hello” consisted of two parts: “Sъ-” and “*dorvo-”, where the first meant “good”, and the second was related to the concept of “tree”. It turns out that for the ancient Slavs the tree was a symbol of strength and prosperity. That is, such a greeting means that a person wishes another person strength, endurance and well-being.
Hey you, good fellow!
Goy is almost the oldest Russian word, which has meanings associated with life and life-giving force. “Goy” means “to live,” and “esi” means “to eat.” Literally: “You exist now and still be alive!”
“Hey you, good fellow” - this is how they greet everyone to whom they wish goodness and health.
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if “goy” is “to live, life,” then “outcast” is its antonym - a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Peace to your home!
The phrase “Peace to your home!” greeted all the relatives of the person they met and his family. There is an opinion that perhaps this greeting meant a greeting to Domovoy and Chura. The brownie was not just the keeper of the hearth and order in the house, but also the embodiment of the god Rod. Over time, Rod transformed into the Ancestor, and then into the Brownie.
But the cult of the ancestor remained in Rus'. You’ve probably heard the expression when finding an ownerless item: “Cheers, it’s mine!” This is an ancient call to Rod to witness the find.
Bows
Since ancient times, the Slavs greeted a respected person with a low bow to the ground. In addition, touching the earth (kissing) served as a ritual of receiving strength and grace from the earth. They bowed from the waist to acquaintances and friends, and most often bowed to strangers, putting their hand to their heart and then lowering it down.
Also, a stranger could be greeted with a simple nod. In this case, the movement should not go towards the sun, but towards the earth. The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.”
Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. In general, any bow means humility before your interlocutor. In addition, as a person bows to another, he exposes his neck, becoming defenseless, this is a kind of trust.
Wrist Squeeze
We are used to shaking hands, but before we used to say hello by shaking the wrist. It was a kind of self-identification. They checked whether there were weapons in their hands. And also, when the wrists touch, not only the pulse is transmitted, but also the biorhythm of the other person. The code of another person is read and his affiliation, or lack thereof, with modern admirers of the traditions and beliefs of the ancient Slavs is determined.
Fortunately, along with borrowed greetings in our modern speech, we also use original Slavic ones. So, “Glory to Rod!”, “Good day,” “Be healthy!” - all these words and phrases convey warmth, care and participation in the fate of another person, the interlocutor.
Pre-Christian greetings
In fairy tales and epics, heroes very often greet fields, rivers, forests, and clouds. People, especially young people, are told: “Hey you, good fellow!” The word goy is very old; this ancient root is found in many languages. In Russian, its meanings are associated with life and life-giving force, and in Dahl's dictionary goit means “to fast, to live, to live.” But there is another interpretation of the greeting “Go you!”: some researchers argue that this phrase indicates belonging to the same community, clan, tribe and can be translated as: “You are ours, of our blood.”
So, the word “goy” means “to live,” and “esi” means “to eat.” Literally, this phrase can be translated into modern Russian as follows: “You exist now and still be alive!”
Interestingly, this ancient root is preserved in the word outcast. And if “goy” is “to live, life,” then “outcast” is its antonym - a person cut off from life, deprived of it.
Another common greeting in Rus' is “Peace to your home!” It is unusually complete and respectful, because in this way a person greets the house and all its inhabitants, close and distant relatives. Perhaps in pre-Christian Rus', such a greeting also meant an appeal to the brownie and the god of this kind.
Christian greetings
Christianity gave Rus' a variety of greetings, and from then on, from the very first words spoken, it became possible to determine the religion of a stranger. Russian Christians liked to greet each other like this: “Christ is in our midst!” - and answer: “It is and will be!” Byzantium is dear to Rus', and the ancient Greek language feels almost native. The ancient Greeks greeted each other with the exclamation “Hayrete!”, which meant “Rejoice!” - and the Russians followed them in accepting this greeting. "Rejoice!" - as if a person begins a hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos (after all, this is exactly the refrain that is found in hymns to the Theotokos). Another greeting that emerged during this time was more often used when passing people at work. “God help you!” - he said then. “For the glory of God!” or “Thank God!” - they answered him. These words, not as a greeting, but more often as just a wish, are still used by Russians to this day.
Surely not all versions of ancient greetings have reached us. In spiritual literature, the greeting was almost always “omitted” and the characters went straight to the essence of the conversation. Only in one literary monument - the apocrypha “The Tale of Our Father Agapius” of the 13th century is there a greeting from that time, surprising in its poetry: “Walk well and the path will be good.”
Kisses
The triple kiss, preserved in Russia to this day, is a very old tradition. The number three is sacred, it is both completeness in the Trinity, and reliability and protection. Guests were often kissed this way - after all, a guest for a Russian person is like an angel entering a house. Another type of kiss is the kiss of the hand, which meant respect and admiration. Of course, this is how those close to him greeted the sovereign (sometimes kissing not even his hand, but his foot). This kissing is also part of the priest’s blessing, which is also a greeting. In the church, they also kissed the one who had just received the Holy Mysteries of Christ - in this case, the kiss was both congratulations and a greeting to a renewed, cleansed person.
The sacred, and not just the “formal” meaning of kisses in Rus' is also evidenced by the fact that not everyone was allowed to kiss the hand of the sovereign (ambassadors from non-Christian countries were prohibited from doing so). A person of lower status could kiss a higher one on the shoulder, and he could kiss him on the head.
After the revolution and during Soviet times, the tradition of greetings and kisses weakened, but is now being revived again.
Bows
Bowing is a greeting that, unfortunately, has not survived to this day (but remains in some other countries: for example, in Japan, people of any level and social status still bow deeply to each other when meeting, saying goodbye, and as a sign of gratitude). In Rus' it was customary to bow when meeting. But the bows were also different.
The Slavs greeted a person respected in the community with a low bow to the ground, sometimes even touching or kissing it. This bow was called the “great custom.” Acquaintances and friends were greeted with a “small custom” - a bow from the waist, and strangers with almost no custom: putting a hand to the heart and then lowering it down. It is interesting that the gesture “from the heart to the earth” is originally Slavic, but “from the heart to the sun” is not. Placing a hand to the heart accompanied any bow - this is how our ancestors expressed the cordiality and purity of their intentions.
Any bow metaphorically (and physically too) means humility before the interlocutor. There is also a moment of defenselessness in it, because a person bows his head and does not see the person in front of him, exposing him to the most defenseless place of his body - his neck.
Embrace
Hugs were common in Rus', but this type of greeting also had variations. One of the most interesting examples is a man’s “heart to heart” hug, which, at first glance, shows the complete trust of men in each other, but in reality indicates the opposite, because this is how men checked whether a potential dangerous rival had weapons. A separate type of hug is fraternization, a sudden cessation of hostilities. Relatives and friends hugged, as well as people in the church before confession. This is an ancient Christian tradition that helps a person tune in to confession, forgive others and ask for forgiveness himself (after all, in churches then there were people who knew each other well, and among them were offenders and offended people).
Handshakes and hats
Touching hands is an ancient gesture that communicates a lot to interlocutors without a single word. You can tell a lot by how strong and long a handshake is. The duration of the handshake is proportional to the warmth of the relationship; close friends or people who have not seen each other for a long time and are happy to meet could make a warm handshake not with one hand, but with both. The elder was usually the first to extend his hand to the younger - it was as if he was inviting him into his circle. The hand must be “bare” - this rule has been preserved to this day. An open hand shows trust. Another option for shaking hands is touching with hands rather than palms. Apparently, it was common among warriors: this is how they checked that those they met on their way did not have weapons with them, and demonstrated their lack of weapons. The sacred meaning of such a greeting is that when the wrists touch, the pulse, and therefore the biorhythm of the other person, is transmitted. Two people form a chain, which is also important in the Russian tradition.
Later, when rules of etiquette appeared, only friends were allowed to shake hands. And in order to greet distant acquaintances, they raised their hats. This is where the Russian expression “casual acquaintance” comes from, meaning superficial acquaintance.
"Hello" and "Hello"
The origin of these greetings is very interesting, since the word “hello,” for example, cannot be reduced simply to the word “health,” that is, health. Now we perceive it exactly like that: as a wish for another person to have health and long life. However, the root “zdrav” and “zdrov” is found in ancient Indian, Greek, and Avestan languages. Initially, the word “hello” consisted of two parts: “Sъ-” and “*dorvo-”, where the first meant “good”, and the second was related to the concept of “tree”. What does the tree have to do with it? For the ancient Slavs, a tree was a symbol of strength and prosperity, and such a greeting meant that a person wished another this strength, endurance and prosperity. In addition, the greeter himself comes from a strong, strong family. This also proves that not everyone could say “hello.” Free people, equal to each other, were allowed this, but slaves were not. The form of greeting for them was different - “I hit with my forehead.”
Researchers found the very first mention of the word “hello” in a chronicle dated 1057. The author of the chronicles wrote: “Hello, many summers.”
The word “hello” is easier to decipher. It also consists of two parts: “at” + “vet”. The first is found in the words “caress”, “incline” and means closeness, approaching something or someone. The second is in the words “advice”, “answer”, “news”... By saying “hello”, we show closeness (and indeed, we only address close people this way) and, as it were, convey good news to another.