Provided German greeting (4)
I believe the answer is:
gave
'provided' is the definition.
(giving is a kind of providing)
'german greeting' is the wordplay.
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'greeting' becomes 'ave' (Latin greeting).
'g'+'ave'='GAVE'
(Other definitions for gave that I've seen before include "Caved in" , "Yielded; hosted (a party)" , "made a donation" , "Donated" , "Handed over" .)