Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. The position of a person or team in a tournament...

Ancestry of “bye”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbīlullaby!; near, by; by, near, around
2Proto-West Germanicbīby, at; near, around
3Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “bye”

  • thereby
  • whereby
  • bye
  • hereby
  • bygone
  • closeby
  • swingby
  • forthby
  • passer-by
  • play-by-play
  • bye-bye
  • hang-by
  • side-by-side
  • бай
  • баю
  • babaille
  • bye
  • 拜
  • by
  • バイバイ
  • baybay
  • bæ
  • babay
  • bei
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →