Farewell

How to spell farewell

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce farewell

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does farewell mean?

1. nounAn act of leaving or a parting expression of good wishes; a goodbye.
2. interjectionAn exclamation used when parting from someone, meaning goodbye.
3. adjectiveRelating to or marking a departure or leave-taking.

Farewell in a sentence

• noun

  They said a tearful farewell at the airport gate.

• interjection

  She waved from the train and called out a cheerful farewell to her family.

• adjective

  The office held a farewell lunch for the departing director.

• noun

  His speech was a heartfelt farewell to colleagues after thirty years.

• interjection

  The old letter ended simply with the single word farewell.

• adjective

  The band played one last farewell concert before splitting up.

Where does farewell come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Farewell began life as a parting wish in Middle English, written as two words in the phrase 'fare thee well', literally 'may you journey well'. The first element is the verb 'fare', which descends from the Old English 'faran', meaning 'to travel, to go, to get along', a relative of the German 'fahren' (to drive or travel) and still visible in words like 'wayfarer' and 'thoroughfare'. The second element is simply the adverb 'well', so the whole expression originally hoped that the departing person would get along well on their way. Over the 1300s and 1400s the two words fused into a single noun and interjection meaning a goodbye, and the older travel sense of 'fare' faded into the background. Knowing the parts helps with the spelling: it is 'fare' plus 'well', so the ending keeps the double l of 'well', not a single l.

How the word is built

• fare (to go, journey)
• well (adverb of manner)