sveiks

Etymology
There are divergent hypotheses on the origin of this word. Some suggest a connection with 🇨🇬, from ; with an extra -ko-s, one obtains, whence , originally “flexible, agile, nimble,” later “healthy,” then “safe, unharmed.” Others link to the verb , from 🇨🇬, whence also the adjective : originally,  might have come from a parallel form with an initial s-mobile, with its meaning changing from “agile” to “healthy”, “unharmed.” Others yet derive  from 🇨🇬, from  and , ; the original meaning would then have been “one who goes, walks well,” whence “healthy” and then “unharmed.” Given early observations (in a 17th-century dictionary) that  was used mostly near the Lithuanian border, there is the possibility that it was a Lithuanism which spread from the south toward the north. Its use as a greeting is quite recent: the first occurrences are attested in the 1870s (with the mention that was more frequent in this use), and it did not become general until the 20th century. Cognates include 🇨🇬.

Adjective

 * 1)  safe; unharmed despite adverse circumstances
 * 2) ; hello!; greetings!; goodbye! farewell!
 * 1) ; hello!; greetings!; goodbye! farewell!
 * 1) ; hello!; greetings!; goodbye! farewell!
 * 1) ; hello!; greetings!; goodbye! farewell!
 * 1) ; hello!; greetings!; goodbye! farewell!

Usage notes
In the contemporary language, is more frequently used as a greeting than as an adjective: ! “hello!” (to a man), ! (to a woman), ! (to several women), ! (to several men; to men and women together; to one person, male or female, indicating respect; cf. the plural pronoun  “you (pl.)” used to indicate respect, like 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬 or 🇨🇬).