Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls. The same thing can be translated differently into English: Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Saviour of our souls. This means: Theotokos Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. These greetings are still used in modern Greek. The first word of greeting, χαῖρε, chaíre, is translated "Hail." This means "Rejoice" or "Be glad." This was a normal greeting in Koine Greek. Like all of Saint Luke's Gospel, this phrase was first written in Koine Greek.
In the first phrase from Saint Luke's Gospel, the Angel Gabriel is greeting Mary. The word "Mary" was added after the word "Hail." The entire prayer was "Hail Mary, full of grace." We know this from Saint Thomas Aquinas's writings about the prayer. In Western Europe, in the mid-13th century, the prayer was just a few words. When the Hail Mary was first created, it was much shorter than it is now.
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