adiós (Spanish)

Where does "adiós" come from?

The Spanish word "adiós" originates from the Medieval Latin phrase "ad Deum," which literally means "to God." This expression evolved as a way to commend someone to God upon parting, eventually contracting into the common farewell found across many Romance languages. The term ultimately traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European word for "sky" or "shine," highlighting how a simple religious invocation became a standard greeting.

Full etymology tree

• adiós (Spanish), 'goodbye, farewell'
  • compound a (Spanish)
    • inherited ad (Latin), 'toward, to'
  • compound Dios (Spanish), 'God'
    • inherited Dios (Old Spanish)
      • inherited deus (Latin), 'god, deity'
        • inherited deivos (Latin), 'god, deity'
          • inherited *deiwos (Proto-Italic), 'god, deity'
            • inherited *deywós (Proto-Indo-European), 'god'
              • derived *dyew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be bright, to shine'

Ancestors

• à (Spanish)
• Dios (Spanish)
• ad Deum (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• adeu (Catalan)
• aju (Dutch)
• tschüss (German)
• αντίο (Greek)
• addio (Italian)
• addiju (Maltese)
• adio (Romanian)
• adijo (Slovene)

Descendants and derived words

• adiós (Catalan)
• adiós (Catalan)
• alyos (Chamicuro)
• adios (English)
• adios (English)
• adios (English)
• ayó (Garifuna)
• adios (Hiligaynon)
• adiós (Macanese)
• dʼyoos (Mopan Maya)
• ayó (Papiamentu)
• adiós cará (Spanish)

Updated July 2026

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