Vive, viva, and vivat

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Viva, vive, and vivat are interjections used in the Romance languages. Viva in Spanish (plural Vivan),^[1] Portuguese (plural Vivam), and Italian (Also evviva. Vivano in plural is rare),^[2] Vive in French, and Vivat in Latin (plural Vivant) are subjunctive forms of the verb "to live." Being the third-person (singular or plural agreeing with the subject), subjunctive present conjugation, the terms express a hope on the part of the speaker that another should live. Thus, they mean "(may) he/she/it/they live!" (the word "may" is implied by the subjunctive mood) and are usually translated to English as "long live."

They are often used to salute a person or non-personal entity: "Vive le Québec libre" (from Charles de Gaulle's Vive le Québec libre speech in Montreal), or "Viva il Duce!" the rough equivalent in Fascist Italy of the greeting, "Heil Hitler." In addition, in monarchical times, the king of France would be wished "Vive le Roi!" and the king of Italy "Viva il Re!" both meaning "May the king live!" or "Long live the king!"