Two hippies using a greeting gesture on Earth, 1960s DS9: "Past Tense, Part II"
A greeting was an expression or attitude shared during a meeting with or welcome of individuals with a salutation.
The word "greetings" indicated a welcome, usually in formal or business settings, by a variety of cultures and organizations. "Greetings and salutations" was a common extension of the phrase, and "greetings and felicitations" was less common. (LD: "In the Cradle of Vexilon", TOS: "The Squire of Gothos")
Formal Uses[]
"Hello" was a common greeting. "Oh, it's you," was, by contrast, not considered much of a greeting. (TNG: "Captain's Holiday") Specific salutations were offered to and by species according to their custom, such as the Vulcan salute for Vulcans or a handshake for Humans. (TOS: "Journey to Babel", ENT: "Cold Front")
First contact was, as the first time one world officially encountered another, a special type of greeting, of which Captain Jean-Luc Picard said, "We never know what we will face when we open the door on a new world, how we will be greeted, what exactly the dangers will be." Because of a disastrous original encounter with Klingons that led to decades of war, the United Federation of Planets adopted a policy of surveillance before proceeding with official introductions. (TNG: "First Contact")
Receptions were one way of greeting ambassadors or other people of importance. Such events could be approximately an hour long. (TNG: "Liaisons") One of the ambassadorial functions of a Betazoid representative was the dinner of greeting. (TNG: "Manhunt") It was common on Deep Space 9 for visitors to be greeted at the airlock. Station officials were expected greet dignitaries, such as the Kai. (DS9: "Rapture", "Image in the Sand")
Starfleet vessels had standardized greetings to send to unfamiliar vessels. There was also a friendly greeting. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Datalore", VOY: "Distant Origin", "Scorpion", DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")
By Species[]
On the Borothan morning of Agosoria, the traditional greeting was "Roja durana tua teenan," which meant, "May the Plume light your way." (ENT: "Cold Front")
Earth sent at least two probes in the 20th and 21st centuries with the goal of making contact with alien species. The SETI greeting began with the phrase, "Greetings from the people of Earth," and the Friendship 1 probe of 2067 said, "We the people of Earth greet you in a spirit of peace and humility." (VOY: "Future's End", VOY: "Friendship One") While the Vulcans were not greeted "with torches and pitchforks" according to Captain Jonathan Archer when they first visited Earth in 2063, they nevertheless recalled Humans as having been fearful and angry in the mid-22nd century. (ENT: "Horizon")
Iyaaran greetings could take at least five minutes. (TNG: "Liaisons")
The Jarada had very precise greeting protocols, and an unusual language. The slightest mispronunciation was regarded as an insult, and there were only certain individuals from whom the greeting could be accepted (for example, the captain of a starship). (TNG: "The Big Goodbye")
The Kadi ritual greeting was the phrase, "Travelers who have left the sanctity of their home and family, we welcome you into our home and family." The response was the visitors offering symbols of their purity and of the blessing of the Goddess Mother. (VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me")
A formal, yet subtle, Klingon greeting was nuqneh. (LD: "Envoys")
The traditional greeting on Klowahka was with the amuse-bouche, even to new arrivals that were bound for flavor prison. (LD: "A Farewell To Farms")
The Numiri were known for blunt or curt greetings. A Numiri ship simply notifying a passing vessel of the consequences of illegal actions within their space, without an introduction, was considered to be friendly by their standards. (VOY: "Ex Post Facto")
The appropriate greeting for the Mistress of the Winter Constellations of the Orion House Tendi was to bow on one knee while holding the right hand on the chest, looking at the Mistress and addressing her directly. (LD: "Something Borrowed, Something Green")
Though it was not necessarily a common or traditional greeting on Sigma Iotia II, being escorted at gunpoint was known to happen to visitors. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")
The Vori used the phrase "You are brightly greeted" to say hello to visitors. (VOY: "Nemesis")
The Vulcan P'Jem monastery had specific protocols regarding visitors, including how they were to be greeted. An elder would greet visitors upon arrival, and visitors were not to speak to this elder or any other member of the order unless first addressed. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")
The original greeting protocol of the Emergency Medical Holographic program was, "What is the nature of the medical emergency?" It was later updated to, "Welcome to Sickbay. How may I help you today?" (VOY: "Life Line")
Specific Greetings[]
In an alternate timeline 1944 on Earth, the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was received in New York City by enthusiastic crowds in Times Square. He also went to the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. (ENT: "Storm Front")
When Miles O'Brien and Kira Nerys arrived in the 1960s, they were greeted by two "hippies" using the V sign. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part II")
In 2000, the city of Canton, Ohio, on Earth, gave a parade to greet the officials of the Millennium Gate, as one of three alternate sites for the Gate. Portage Creek was the first choice for the Gate, but a single citizen, Henry Janeway, was said to be the single citizen to not greet them "with open arms." (VOY: "11:59")
In 2269, Captain James T. Kirk said to Flint, "If we were barbarians, we would not have asked for ryetalyn. Indeed, your greeting, not ours, lacked a certain benevolence." (TOS: "Requiem for Methuselah")
"Greet [him] well" was an introduction used by Viking characters in the Beowulf holonovel. (VOY: "Heroes and Demons")