Alternative forms

• farewel (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#FAREWELLCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#FAREWELL 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 EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Old English#FAREWELLCategory:English terms derived from Old English#FAREWELL *far wel!, equivalent to fare (“to fare, travel, journey”) +‎ wellCategory:English compound terms#FAREWELL. Compare Scots farewele, fairweill (“farewell”), Saterland Frisian Foarwäil (“farewell”), West Frisian farwol (“farewell”), German Fahrwol, Fahrwohl, East Frisian forwal,^[1] 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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɛəˈwɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɛɹˈwɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /feːˈwel/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ˈfeəˈwel/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ˈfiəˈwel/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈfeɹˈwɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜː(ɹ)ˈwɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /fɑːɹˈwɛl/, /fæɹˈwɛl/Category:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English 2-syllable words#FAREWELLCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#FAREWELL^[2]
• Hyphenation: fare‧well
• Rhymes: -ɛlCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛl#FAREWELLCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛl/2 syllables#FAREWELL

Noun

farewell (plural farewells)Category:English lemmas#FAREWELLCategory:English nouns#FAREWELLCategory:English countable nouns#FAREWELLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with entries#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FAREWELL

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

   He bid farewell to all of his fans.Category:English terms with usage examples#FAREWELL

   Synonyms: goodbye, adieu, vale

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     The departure was not unduly prolonged. […] Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments on the subject of Divine Intention in the disposition of buckets; farewells and last commiserations; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

   • 1960 November, L. Hyland, “The Irish Scene”, in Trains Illustrated, page 691:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

2. A departure; the act of leaving.
   • c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     See how the morning opes her golden gates, And takes her farewell of the glorious sun.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

   • September 14, 1710, Joseph Addison, The Examiner No. 1

     Before I take my farewell of the subject.

Adjective

farewell (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#FAREWELLCategory:English adjectives#FAREWELLCategory:English uncomparable adjectives#FAREWELLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with entries#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FAREWELL

1. Parting, valedictory, final.

   a farewell discourse;  the band's farewell tourCategory:English terms with usage examples#FAREWELL

   • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     “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”.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

   • 1858, John Saunders, Westland Marston, The National Magazine, volume 3, page 133:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned

Interjection

farewellCategory:English lemmas#FAREWELLCategory:English interjections#FAREWELLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with entries#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FAREWELL

1. Goodbye

   Synonyms: adieu, vale

   He said "Farewell!" and left.Category:English terms with usage examples#FAREWELL

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     So farewell hope, and with hope, farewell fear.

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

   • 1786 July 31, Robert Burns, “On a Scotch Bard Gone to the West Indies”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire: Printed by John Wilson, →OCLC; reprinted Kilmarnock: James McKie, March 1867, →OCLC, page 184:

     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!

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

Verb

farewell (third-person singular simple present farewells, present participle farewelling, simple past and past participle farewelled)Category:English lemmas#FAREWELLCategory:English verbs#FAREWELLCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with entries#FAREWELLCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FAREWELL

1. To bid farewell or say goodbye.
   • 2009 February 9, Neil Wilson and staff writers, “Tributes for newsman Brian Naylor and wife, killed in fires”, in Herald Sun‎, archived from the original on 11 February 2009:

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

     Category:English terms with quotations#FAREWELL

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

• wellfare