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 /

sentence substitute

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

The result was not exactly an offensive masterpiece putting the rest of the NFC on notice that the Saints are poised for a Super Bowl run in what could be Brees’s farewell postseason.

From Washington Post

In our farewell, my boss said he was sending a gift to me to recognize both.

From Washington Post

The cartoonist bid farewell knowing his strip was at its aesthetic pinnacle.

From Washington Post

Three days before flying with his mother and manager to his new life in Washington, the Wizards’ 19-year-old first-round draft pick is bidding farewell to the floor that made him famous by draining one three-pointer after another.

From Washington Post

All of the Core Four were still producing for the Yankees into the 2010s, years after Williams had played his last game in pinstripes, which kept him from participating in the farewell narrative with the rest of the dynasty’s cornerstones.

From FiveThirtyEight

There was something cathartic about deleting this 2,500-word monster of a farewell, and resolving to live.

From The Daily Beast

Get ready to bid farewell to the spitfire Bobby Bottleservice and big booty player Ref Jeff.

From The Daily Beast

“If you see their car, you know some poor soul is about to die,” Noor says, at his farewell party.

From The Daily Beast

A Chinese restaurateur ran to the window as I wolfed down roast duck for my farewell dinner, as shots were heard across the way.

From The Daily Beast

Will voters shower Breaking Bad with farewell trophies, or is the enthusiasm for True Detective impossible to beat?

From The Daily Beast

I often recall the farewell lunch we had together at the Restaurant de Paris, in the Escolta.

From Project Gutenberg

Uncle David nodded, and waved his hand, as on entering the door he gave them a farewell smile over his shoulder.

From Project Gutenberg

They were just about to celebrate tabagie, or a solemn feast, over his last farewell.

From Project Gutenberg

The farewell and the mourning are finished by the slaughter of dogs, that the dying man may have forerunners in the other world.

From Project Gutenberg

In the evening I received General d'Amade who had come over to pay his farewell visit.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adieu
• bon voyage
• goodbye