arrivederci (Italian)

Where does "arrivederci" come from?

The Italian word 'arrivederci' is a classic example of univerbation, formed by combining the preposition 'a' (to) with 'rivederci' (seeing ourselves again). This phrase, which literally expresses the intention for a future meeting, parallels similar expressions in French, Romanian, and Slavic languages that center on the idea of 'until we see each other again'.

Full etymology tree

• arrivederci (Italian), 'goodbye, so long, see you soon, see you (non-definitive farewell)'
  • compound a (Italian)
  • compound rivederci (Italian), 'compound of the infinitive rivedere with ci'
    • affix ri- (Italian), 're-, again'
    • compound vederci (Italian), 'compound of the infinitive vedere with ci'
      • compound vedere (Italian), 'to see'
        • inherited vidēre (Latin), 'inflection of videō:'
      • compound ci (Italian), 'The name of the Latin-script letter C/c.; cee'
        • inherited ecce (Latin), 'see!, look!, behold!, points out something with emphasis'
        • inherited hic (Latin), 'this; these (in the plural)'

Cognates and doublets

• довиждане (Bulgarian)
• au revoir (French)
• *viděti (Proto-Slavic)
• la revedere (Romanian)
• до свидания (Russian)

Updated July 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris