different between welcome vs salutation

English

Etymology

From Middle English welcome, wolcume, wulcume, wilcume, from Old English wilcuma (“a wished-for guest”; compare also wilcume (“welcome!”, interjection)), from Proto-Germanic *wiljakumô (“a comer, a wished-for guest”), equivalent to will (“desire”) +? come (“comer, arrival”). The component wil- was replaced by wel- when the sense “guest” of the second component was no longer understood, possibly under the influence of French bienvenu. Cognate with Scots walcome (“welcome”), West Frisian wolkom (“welcome”), Dutch welkom (“welcome”) (earlier willecome), German willkommen (“welcome”), Danish and Norwegian velkommen (“welcome”), Swedish välkommen (“welcome”), Icelandic velkomin (“welcome”), Faroese vælkomin (“welcome”), Low Saxon: willkamen.

Similar constructions are common in Romance languages, such as Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, French bienvenu, Catalan benvingut, Portuguese bem-vindo and Romanian bun venit, each meaning “[may you have fared] well [in] coming [here]”. These do not derive from Classic Latin, where a similar construction is not found, and presumably are instead the result of a calque from, considering the ruling elite of the barbarian kingdoms which succeeded the Western Roman Empire, a Germanic language to Proto-Romance (Vulgar Latin; see Latin *bene venutus, and compare *perdono for similar historical phenomenon).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) enPR: w?l?k?m, IPA^(key): /?w?lk?m/
• Rhymes: -?lk?m
• Hyphenation: wel?come

Adjective

welcome (comparative more welcome, superlative most welcome)

1. Whose arrival is a cause of joy; received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
   • 1782, William Cowper, The Progress of Error

     When the glad soul is made Heaven's welcome guest.

2. Producing gladness.
3. Free to have or enjoy gratuitously.

Translations

Interjection

welcome

1. Greeting given upon someone's arrival.
2. (nonstandard, especially Southern US) Ellipsis of you're welcome.

Usage notes

When used with reference to a place, "welcome" is always followed by "to". The signs often seen in many non-English-speaking countries welcoming tourists with "in", such as "Welcome in Heidelberg!", sound unnatural to some English speakers and show interference from other languages, many of which use a cognate of "in" in this situation, and especially with a cognate of "welcome".

Translations

Noun

welcome (plural welcomes)

1. The act of greeting someone’s arrival, especially by saying "Welcome!"; reception.
2. The utterance of such a greeting.
3. Kind reception of a guest or newcomer.

   We entered the house and found a ready welcome.

   • Truth finds an entrance and a welcome too.

   • 1735, William Shenstone, Written at an inn at Henley

     the warmest welcome at an inn

4. The state of being a welcome guest.

Translations

Derived terms

• wear out one's welcome

Verb

welcome (third-person singular simple present welcomes, present participle welcoming, simple past and past participle welcomed)

1. To affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!".
2. To accept something willingly or gladly.
   • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang welcomed cooperation with South Korea.

Translations

Derived terms

See also

• welcome back
• welcome home

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French salutacion, from Latin salutatio (“a greeting, a wishing health to”), from saluto (“wish one’s health, greet”), from salus (“well-being”). Compare the Latin greeting salve (literally “be well”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sælju?te???n/, /?sælj??te???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n
• Hyphenation: sal?u?ta?tion

Noun

salutation (countable and uncountable, plural salutations)

1. A greeting, salute, or address; a hello.
2. The act of greeting.
3. (obsolete) Quickening; excitement.

Derived terms

• angelic salutation

Related terms

Translations

See also

• valediction

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin salutatio, salutationem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa.ly.ta.sj??/

Noun

salutation f (plural salutations)

1. greeting

Related terms

• salutaire
• saluer

Further reading

• “salutation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).