Where does “farewell” come from?
Farewell comes from Middle English farewel, from the phrase fare wel in Middle English and Old English, literally meaning "go well."
farewell (English): A wish of happiness or safety at parting,...
Definitions
- A wish of happiness or safety at parting,...
Ancestry of “farewell”, step by step
farewell traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English fare
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fare | A going; journey; travel; voyage; course;... |
| 2 | Middle English | fare | journey, going |
| 3 | Old English | fær | sudden danger, calamity; sudden attack; ambush; a... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *far | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | farą | a means of passing, ford, ferry |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English well
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | well | Accurately, competently, satisfactorily;... |
| 2 | Middle English | wellen | to boil, to bubble |
| 3 | Old English | weallan | to well |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wallaną | to well up, spring out, bubble forth |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wēlH- | to roll, to undulate |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | welH- | to turn, to wind |