goodbye (English)

Where does "goodbye" come from?

The word 'goodbye' originated as a contraction of the pious Middle English phrase 'God be with ye,' which passed through several compressed forms like 'Godbwye' and 'God b'w'y.' By the late 16th century, the first syllable shifted from 'God' to 'good' due to the influence of phrases like 'good morning' and 'good night.' Today, it stands as a unique blend of its original religious sentiment and the modern secular framing of 'good' and 'bye'.

Full etymology tree

goodbye (English), 'An utterance of goodbye, the wishing of farewell to someone.'
- clipping of God be with you (English), 'God bless you.'
  - compound of god (Old English), 'good'
    - inherited from *guþ (Proto-West Germanic)
      - inherited from *guđą (Proto-Germanic)
        derived from *ǵʰew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to pour'
- blend of good (English), 'Of a person or an animal:'
  - inherited from good (Middle English), 'good (of good quality or behaviour)'
    - inherited from gōd (Old English), 'good'
      - inherited from *gōd (Proto-West Germanic), 'good'
        inherited from *gōdaz (Proto-Germanic), 'good'
        derived from *gadaną (Proto-Germanic)
        inherited from *gʰedʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to join'
- compound of bye (English), 'The position of a person or team in a tournament or competition who draws no opponent in a particular round so advances to the next round unopposed, or is awarded points for a win in a league table; also the phantom opponent of such a person or team.'
  - derived from by (English), 'Near or next to.'
    - inherited from bī (Old English), 'about (concerning)'
      - inherited from *bī (Proto-West Germanic), 'by, at'
        inherited from *bi (Proto-Germanic), 'by, at'
        inherited from *h₁epi (Proto-Indo-European), 'on, at, near'
        derived from *h₁ep- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grab, snatch, get'

Direct ancestors

Updated April 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris