adieu

[uh-doo, uh-dyoo; French a-dyœ]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR adieu ON THESAURUS.COM

interjection

goodbye; farewell.

noun, plural a·dieus, a·dieux [uh-dooz, uh-dyooz; French a-dyœ] /əˈduz, əˈdyuz; French aˈdyœ/.

the act of leaving or departing; farewell.

Origin of adieu

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, equivalent to a (< Latin ad to) + dieu (< Latin deus god)

Can be confusedà deux adieu ado (see synonym study at ado)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for adieu

farewell, goodbye, valediction, parting, leave-taking, adios

Examples from the Web for adieu

Contemporary Examples of adieu

The shingle recently bid its co-founder and CEO James Schamus adieu, replacing him with FilmDistrict CEO Peter Schlessel.
With Charlie Hunnam Out, Who Will Play Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey?’
Marlow Stern
October 13, 2013
But, when Hal is busted for running a Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme, Augie gets wiped out, and Ginger bids him adieu.
Andrew Dice Clay on ‘Blue Jasmine,’ His Alleged Misogyny, and More
Marlow Stern
July 25, 2013
As Sarah Palin prepares to bid Alaska adieu, liberals should hope that she runs for president in 2012.
Run, Sarah, Run!
Michelle Goldberg
July 23, 2009

Historical Examples of adieu

I advise as a friend, you see, rather than command as a mother—So adieu, my love.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Adieu, dearest of friends; may the next gouty attack be more favourable!
Lady Susan
Jane Austen
Return—but not to bid her adieu—return to be hers for ever, and only hers.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
I say, Frank, give Langley my love; don't wonder at it now, adieu!
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXII No. 4, April 1848
Various
Having got rid of my dear brother and his friends, I returned to make my adieu to my cousin.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for adieu

adieu

sentence substitute, noun plural adieus or adieux (əˈdjuːz, French adjø)

goodbye; farewell

Word Origin for adieu

C14: from Old French, from a to + dieu God

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adieu

late 14c., adewe, from French adieu, from phrase a dieu (vous) commant "I commend (you) to God," from a "to" (see ad) + dieu "God," from Latin deum, accusative of deus "god," from PIE *deiwos (see Zeus). Originally said to the party left; farewell was to the party setting forth.