Namaste Odia and Kannada languages, or a different greeting word is "āyubōvan" (ආයුබෝවන්) which has the meaning "wishing long life". Namaste Namaste (, Devanagari: नमस्ते, ), sometimes spoken as "Namaskar" and "Namaskaram", is a customary Hindu greeting. The term has origins in the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. In the contemporary era, it is found on the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and among the Hindu diaspora worldwide. It is used both for salutation and valediction. "Namaste" is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture
Salutation such as "Prof." or "Acad." are best avoided. An exception is "Dr." for "Doctor", which is still acceptable in the salutation. If the recipient has multiple titles, generally only the most important one is used. For women, it is current practice to use the masculine form of the title, preferring, for instance, "Doamnă Director" instead of "Doamnă Directoare". Note that some titles may lose their intended meaning when used in their feminine form. For instance, "Profesor"/"Profesoară" are titles which may be associated with a male/female school teacher. When used to mean a university professor ("profesor universitar"), however, only the masculine