Cheers!

[EndtheMadnessNow]

...
 
Since “Cheers!” is also a toast, as in the title of the American sitcom, the place to start is the ancient ritual of “libation”, when liquid was spilled onto the ground as a form of sacrifice to the gods, accompanied by a prayer.

As an American white country boy I picked this up as a child watching some British shows on cable TV. Yea, I know, bad influence. lol. But, even back then I thought why do they say "Cheers!" - why? what do they mean? My grandma would say pay no attention, the British folk are just plain weird with their broken English and nonsensical humor. Um, ok, grandma.

So, anyhow, for years I thought that is how "Cheers" became intertwined with American lingo...until inspired by your post and found this etymology excerpt:

The meaning "that which makes cheerful or promotes good spirits" is from late 14c. The meaning "shout of encouragement" is recorded by 1720, perhaps nautical slang (compare the earlier verbal sense "encourage by words or deeds," early 15c.). The antique English greeting what cheer? (mid-15c.) was picked up by Algonquian Indians of southern New England from the Puritans and spread in Native American languages as far as Canada.

Huh, how about that!