Question: What longer phrase was “goodbye” originally derived from?
Answer: “Goodbye” is a centuries-old contraction of the old expression, “God be with ye.” By the 16th century, the phrase had begun to shrink, first to God b’wye, then Good b’wye, and ultimately to Goodbye. The first printed version of the early contraction was in a 1575 letter by English scholar Gabriel Harvey, who wrote: “To requite your gallonde of godbwyes.” By Shakespeare’s time, “goodbye” was in common use.
