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farewell

noun
/fɛəˈwɛl/UK/fɛɹˈwɛl/US/feːˈwel/

Etymology

From Middle English farewel, from fare wel! (and the variants with the personal pronoun "fare ye well" and "fare you well" used in the Renaissance), an imperative expression, possibly further derived from Old English *far wel!, equivalent to fare (“to fare, travel, journey”) + well. Compare Scots farewele, fairweill (“farewell”), Saterland Frisian Foarwäil (“farewell”), West Frisian farwol (“farewell”), German Fahrwol, Fahrwohl, East Frisian forwal, Dutch vaarwel (“farewell (sadly)”), Danish farvel (“farewell”), Norwegian farvel (“farewell”), Swedish farväl (“farewell”), Faroese farvæl (“goodbye”), Icelandic far vel (“farewell”). The extensive list of cognates suggests a postulated ultimate Proto-Germanic phrase of origin, possibly something akin to *far wela.

  1. inherited from *far wel!✻
  2. inherited from farewel

Definitions

  1. A wish of happiness or safety at parting, especially a permanent departure.

    • He bid farewell to all of his fans.
    • The last train—a three-coach A.E.C. unit—from Belfast to Crumlin and back, was bade farewell with fog signals as it carried a capacity crowd of last-trip travellers.

  2. A departure

    A departure; the act of leaving.

    • See how the morning opes her golden gates, And takes her farewell of the glorious sun.
    • Before I take my farewell of the subject.

  3. Parting, valedictory, final.

    • a farewell discourse;  the band's farewell tour
    • “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
    • But with the first gray light of dawn he arose; and before drawing the white sheet veilingly over, he took a last farewell look at that angel face.
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. Goodbye

      • He said "Farewell!" and left.
      • So farewell hope, and with hope, farewell fear.
      • Fareweel, my rhyme-compoſing billie! Your native ſoil was right ill-willie; But may ye flouriſh like a lily, Now bonilie! I'll toaſt ye in my hindmoſt gillie, Tho' owre the Sea!

    2. To bid farewell or say goodbye.

      • He farewelled viewers with a warm sign-off after each bulletin: "May your news be good news, and goodnight."

    3. A hamlet in Farewell and Chorley parish, Lichfield district, Staffordshire, England (OS…

      A hamlet in Farewell and Chorley parish, Lichfield district, Staffordshire, England (OS grid ref SK0811).

    4. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for farewell. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA