What does the word "Slainte" mean?

Question

I've got a question for all you Irish out there. I know slainte is pronnounced slawn-chya, but what does it actually mean? I'm a host a resteraunt in a hotel that has a lot of foreign guests. I was wondering if it was polite/correct to say "slainte" to Irish guests as they're leaving. I know its mostly used as a drinking/cheers saying.

Answer 1

Like a lot of toasts, it literally means "good health".

Answer 2

Its means cheers but it literally means health.

Its not polite thing to sayto guests as they are leaving.

Im Irish and if someone said that to me beside when we were drinking I would tthinkthey were trying to be a smartarse.

I mean if American guests were leaving you wouldnt shout "cheers" at them as they walked out the door.

If I was leaving and you said that I'd wonder if was some underhanded racist comment about the Irish liking drink. Or I moght just think you're odd.

The polite thing to say would just be bye.

Bye is "slán libh"

Pronounced slawn live. (live to rhyme with give)

Thats to more than one person.

if its just one person then,

"slán leat" pronounced slawn lat.

Slán libh/ leat literally mean health with you but its how we say bye.

Or a nice to to say would be

"slán abhaile"

pronounced slawn a-wal-ya

That measn "safe home" (as in have a safe journey home)

Answer 3

exclamation used as a toast before drinking.

  ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚€Â” ORIGIN Scottish Gaelic, ‘health’.

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/sla...

(Scotland) good health!: used as a drinking toast to wish somebody good health

[Early 19th century. < Gaelic slàinte (mhath) "(good) health"]

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/d...

From Old Irish slántu - cheers

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slainte