Where does “bye” come from?
Bye comes from English be, with roots tracing through successive forms of the English verb be, though its specific semantic development remains unclear.
bye (English): The position of a person or team in a tournament...
Definitions
- The position of a person or team in a tournament...
Ancestry of “bye”, step by step
bye traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English bī
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | bī | lullaby!; near, by; by, near, around |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | bī | by, at; near, around |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | bi | by, at; near, around |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂m̥bʰi | around, on either side of, about; in exchange... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂n̥tbʰi | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via English goodbye
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | goodbye | Farewell; a formula used to another person or... |
| 2 | English | goodby | Dated form of goodbye |
| 3 | English | God be with you | God bless you |