farewell

¹

[fair-wel]

interjection

1. goodbye; may you fare well.

   Farewell, and may we meet again in happier times.

noun

1. an expression of good wishes at parting.

   They made their farewells and left.

2. leave-taking; departure.

   a fond farewell.

3. a party given to a person who is about to embark on a long journey, retire, leave an organization, etc.

adjective

1. parting; valedictory; final.

   a farewell performance.

Farewell

²

[fair-wel]

noun

1. Cape, a cape in S Greenland: most southerly point of Greenland.

farewell

/ ˌfɛəˈwɛl /

1. goodbye; adieu

noun

1. a parting salutation

2. an act of departure; leave-taking

3. (modifier) expressing leave-taking

   a farewell speech

verb

1. to honour (a person) at his departure, retirement, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of farewell¹

First recorded in 1325–75, farewell is from the Middle English word farwel. See fare, well ¹

Example Sentences

At the age of 32, and having withdrawn from Euro 2025 selection, her decision does not come as a surprise, though it will be an emotional farewell to her England career.

Read more on BBC

The great and the good of the boxing world were among thousands of mourners who said an emotional farewell to world champion Ricky Hatton at his funeral earlier.

Read more on BBC

Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Manchester on Friday as stars from the sporting world gathered to bid a final farewell to British former world champion Ricky Hatton.

Read more on Barron's

It is also a tender farewell to youth, a theme that is central to a short story Jordan loves by a writer named Ray Hart.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Now that there’s nothing stopping a younger, more talented player from leaving for another school in pursuit of more playing time, keeping hold of a veteran often means bidding farewell to more promising backups.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• adieu 
• bon voyage 
• goodbye