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Added 9 October 2026

farewell

/fɛəˈwɛl/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about farewell at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A wish of happiness or safety at parting, especially a permanent departure.
He bid farewell to all of his fans.
A departure; the act of leaving.

adjective

Parting, valedictory, final.
a farewell discourse; the band's farewell tour

verb

To bid farewell or say goodbye.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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