Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • interjection Used to express goodbye.
  • noun An acknowledgment at parting; a goodbye.
  • noun The act of departing or taking leave.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A good-by; a leave-taking; an adieu.
  • noun Farewell followed by to governing the object is a noun, used elliptically for “I bid farewell (to …).”
  • noun Leave; departure; final look, thought, or attention.
  • Parting; valedictory: as, a farewell sermon; farewell appearance of an actor.
  • To bid farewell to; take leave of.
  • ‘Fare well’; may you be or continue in a happy or prosperous condition; in common use, good-by.
  • [It is still often written separately, with a pronoun between, the pronoun being either the subject nominative, as in “fare you well” or “fare ye well,” or a dative of reference, as in “fare thee well.”
  • Synonyms Good-by, etc. See adieu, interj.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • interjection Go well; good-by; adieu; -- originally applied to a person departing, but by custom now applied both to those who depart and those who remain. It is often separated by the pronoun; ; and is sometimes used as an expression of separation only
  • adjective Parting; valedictory; final
  • adjective (Mining) the Millstone grit; -- so called because no coal is found worth working below this stratum. It is used for hearths of furnaces, having power to resist intense heat.
  • noun A wish of happiness or welfare at parting; the parting compliment; a good-by; adieu.
  • noun Act of departure; leave-taking; a last look at, or reference to something.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A wish of happiness or welfare at parting, especially a permanent departure; the parting compliment; a goodbye; adieu.
  • noun An act of departure; leave-taking; a last look at, or reference to something.
  • adjective parting, valedictory, final
  • interjection goodbye
  • verb To bid farewell or say goodbye

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of departing politely
  • noun an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English fare wel : imperative of faren, to fare; see fare + wel, well; see well.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English farewel, from fare wel!, an imperative expression, equivalent to fare (“to fare, travel, journey”) +‎ well. Cognate with Scots farewele, fairweill ("farewell"), West Frisian farwol ("farewell"), Dutch vaarwel ("farewell"), Danish farvel ("farewell"), Norwegian farvel ("farewell"), Faroese farvæl ("farewell"), Icelandic far vel ("farewell").

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Examples

  • President Jimmy Carter did it in his farewell address a speech he concluded with the word farewell, which is the proper way to end a farewell address.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • President Jimmy Carter did it in his farewell address a speech he concluded with the word farewell, which is the proper way to end a farewell address.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • President Jimmy Carter did it in his farewell address a speech he concluded with the word farewell, which is the proper way to end a farewell address.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • President Jimmy Carter did it in his farewell address a speech he concluded with the word farewell, which is the proper way to end a farewell address.

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • Mladic attorney Milos Saljic visited him in his jail cell in the early afternoon and said the former general was crying and very emotional during what he called a farewell visit by his wife and sister.

    Mladic spending night in isolation at UN prison 2011

  • Their relationship culminates with a very revealing poem that aptly begins with the word farewell.

    The Blackstone Key Rose Melikan 2008

  • Their relationship culminates with a very revealing poem that aptly begins with the word farewell.

    The Blackstone Key Rose Melikan 2008

  • Their relationship culminates with a very revealing poem that aptly begins with the word farewell.

    The Blackstone Key Rose Melikan 2008

  • It was on the 28th of September, 1880, that several of my friends and relatives had gathered in the parlor to have what they called a farewell chat with me while I was yet their girl companion.

    My own life, or, A deserted wife, 1895

  • He has been publicly girding for his incarceration with a series of goodbyes, including what he called a farewell tour in recent months and a recent Rolling Stone cover story in which he said he considered jail "an experience that I need to have if God's putting me through it."

    WRAL.com Top Stories 2010

Comments

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  • goodbye for ever!

    September 28, 2007

  • The saddest goodbye song is one of the most simple (of course, that's just my opinion).

    December 9, 2009