goodbye.
Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
Meaning & usage
Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god Middle English God English God Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyétider.? Proto-Germanic *beuną Proto-West Germanic *beun Old English bēon Middle English been English be Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *wí Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *wíterosder. Proto-Indo-European *wíterom Proto-Germanic *wiþrą Proto-West Germanic *wiþr Old English wiþerclip. Old English wiþ Middle English wiþ English with Proto-Indo-European *uswé Proto-Indo-European *-(m)is? Proto-Indo-European *uswísder. Proto-Germanic *izwiz Proto-West Germanic *iwwiz Old English ēow Middle English yow English you ▲ English goodinflu. English goodbye From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc. Modernly analysed as good + bye.
An utterance of goodbye, the wishing of farewell to someone.
They made their good-byes.
We have time for a short goodbye.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god Middle English God English God Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyétider.? Proto-Germanic *beuną Proto-West Germanic *beun Old English bēon Middle English been English be Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *wí Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *wíterosder. Proto-Indo-European *wíterom Proto-Germanic *wiþrą Proto-West Germanic *wiþr Old English wiþerclip. Old English wiþ Middle English wiþ English with Proto-Indo-European *uswé Proto-Indo-European *-(m)is? Proto-Indo-European *uswísder. Proto-Germanic *izwiz Proto-West Germanic *iwwiz Old English ēow Middle English yow English you ▲ English goodinflu. English goodbye From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc. Modernly analysed as good + bye.
To say goodbye; to wish somebody farewell on parting.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰutós? Proto-Germanic *gudą Proto-West Germanic *god Old English god Middle English god Middle English God English God Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyétider.? Proto-Germanic *beuną Proto-West Germanic *beun Old English bēon Middle English been English be Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *wí Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *wíterosder. Proto-Indo-European *wíterom Proto-Germanic *wiþrą Proto-West Germanic *wiþr Old English wiþerclip. Old English wiþ Middle English wiþ English with Proto-Indo-European *uswé Proto-Indo-European *-(m)is? Proto-Indo-European *uswísder. Proto-Germanic *izwiz Proto-West Germanic *iwwiz Old English ēow Middle English yow English you ▲ English goodinflu. English goodbye From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc. Modernly analysed as good + bye.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.