Ave! 's a Latin phrase, used by the Romans as a salutation and greeting, meaning 'hail'. It's the singular imperative form of the verb avēre, which meant "to be well"; thus, one could translate it literally as "be well!" or "farewell!" The Classical Latin pronunciation of ave was . In Church Latin it's ideally, and in English it tends to be . The term was notably used to greet the Caesar or other authorities. Suetonius recorded that gladiators before combat addressed Caesar with the words… (More on Ave)