What exactly does "prego" mean?

It also means "think nothing of it." A form of deference indicating that the speaker was pleased to act in the manner that precipitated the "thank you" to which "prego" was the response.

I recall coming down to breakfast on the first morning of our honeymoon in Sorrento.

"Prego?", our waiter said.
"Too early to say" my wife replied.

Kicky I thought prego was an Italian meat sauce.

I use Prego like the commercial meaning- ' It's in there.'

This still makes me laugh, all these months later..

Prego can be used to mean a variety of things, generally as a simple, polite response or request. You're welcome is the most common use, and accepted throughout all Italian speaking regions known to me. It is also a way to say excuse me (in place of me scusi), please when asking for something at the beginning of the request or to give some permission i.e. "Please (prego) help yourself. You can also use it as a thank you but that may sound strange depending on usage and region. Better to use a simple grazie.

Generally for please per favore or per piacere (my preference are more appropriate and easily understood. Prego is a more deferential form of request, though I'd use that for emphasis rather than as a common response. But then again I'm Norwegian.

Nigel

prego means: "I pray (literary), I beg, Please, You're welcome, What do you like?, what are you looking for? could you repeat? " - depends on the situation, if it is a question or an answer or just a polite form to nod or approve or permit or just starting/ending a conversation/request. In other words, say it and you will never be wrong or misunderstood -

Noun

prego m (plural preghi)
prayer

Synonyms
preghiera, supplica

Interjection

prego
(after being thanked) you're welcome, don't mention it etc.
(in response to a request) yes, of course

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prego?rdfrom=Prego

Lmur, the bad joke thread is that-a-way.

prego means what you want it to mean, much like every word

when women say it to kixacan it means "nice gut"

There's definitely more than one language with an ambiguous word similar to "prego".

Hey Kickycan,
It would be nice if you would use "your" and "you're" correctly. Here's the correct usage, "this is YOUR wagon." Prego can mean "of course" or YOU'RE welcome. You're is a contraction of "you are" and the way to test the correct usage is to expand it i.e. "your welcome" or "you are welcome." Clearly, you should have used "you're welcome" and not "your welcome."
Sincerely, Carl

In the George Clooney assassin/action movie, "The American," the waiter asks - "Prego?" as he seats Clooney and his date and hands out the menus.

"Prego lei" doesn't exist. The answer is "prego" or "grazie a Lei/a te" if you also want to thank the other person.
"Prego a tutti i santi" is not correct: prego tutti i santi, without "a".
When a waiter says "prego" he's saying "go ahead and have a sit", "go ahead and tell me what you'd like to have". It means that you are welcome there and that you'll be treated right. At the post office the employe will ask you "prego?" - tell me why you're here. And so on.
If anyboy here speaks Russian, it's about the same as "pozhalujsta".

Prayer -> preghiera (pl.: preghiere)
Prego -> io prego, tu preghi ecc.
Va bene?

Yes... you have the best and the RIGHT answer (of course you know that)...
Good Job. My familys italian / from Italy. and you explained it the best.

I love this thread. I found it when I was trying to figure out why everyone in Florence was saying prego all the time. When in doubt, say prego, but whatever tone you put forward should infer the meaning. Prego?

I just read some very old comments by Ninna.
It's both funny and sad when someone who doesn't know the language comes and tries to correct someone who does.

I think of it in terms of "as you wish". I am not sure of the exact italian to english translation but I think it is one of those words that does not translate cleanly and is more of a cultural understanding. If you think of it as "as you wish" you can apply this to most of these contexts. When the waiter says Prego? It is simply "what do you wish?" more of a "How can I help you?" than a "What do you want?"

In Italy a waiter saying..." Prego" is welcoming the guest to his/her table and to the trattoria /ristorante and probably other things you don't want to know.