Ave is a Latin word, used by the Romans as a salutation and greeting, meaning 'hail'. It is the singular imperative form of the verb avēre, which meant 'to be well'; thus one could translate it literally as 'be well' or 'farewell'. Etymology. Ave is likely borrowed with an unspelled /h/ from Punic *ḥawe ('live!', 2SG. IMP.), cognate to Hebrew חוה (Ḥawwāh, Eve), and as avō from Punic *ḥawū (2PL. IMP.), from Semitic root ḥ-w-y ('live'). . The form might have been influenced by avē, the second-person singular present imperative of avēre (first-person aveō), meaning 'to be well/to fare well'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave
Ave is a Latin word, used by the Romans as a salutation and greeting, meaning 'hail'. It is the singular imperative form of the verb avēre, which meant 'to be well'; thus one could translate it literally as 'be well' or 'farewell'. Etymology. Ave is likely borrowed with an unspelled /h/ from Punic *ḥawe ('live!', 2SG. IMP.), cognate to Hebrew חוה (Ḥawwāh, Eve), and as avō from Punic *ḥawū (2PL. IMP.), from Semitic root ḥ-w-y ('live'). . The form might have been influenced by avē, the second-person singular present imperative of avēre (first-person aveō), meaning 'to be well/to fare well'.
