goodbye
/ˌɡʊdˈbaɪ/
interjection
Origin
Middle English
God be with ye — May God be with you
Overview
Meaning Now
- A formula used when departing or at the end of a conversation.
Literal older meaning
God be with ye
Language path
Middle English → Early Modern English → English
Earliest form
Godbwye
Earliest period
late 16th century
Journey
The word originated as a contraction of the pious valediction 'God be with you.' Over time, it was influenced by other common leave-taking expressions like 'good morning' or 'good night', causing 'God' to be replaced by 'good'.
Evolution
- Late 14th century
God be with you
“Blessing of departure”
Original full phrasal form
- Late 16th century
Godbwye
“Farewell”
Contraction of the full phrase
- 17th century
good-b'w'y
“Farewell”
Influenced by 'good' day/morning/night
- 18th century
goodbye
“Farewell”
Established modern spelling
Connections
Word parts
good
root
adjective derived from former 'God'
bye
other
reduction of 'be with ye'
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Related to goodbye
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.