to say farewell
12
3.8
- phrasal verb
- /seɪ fɛrˈwɛl/
- Formal
:
despedirse
- In a nationally televised address Wednesday evening, Prime Minister George Papandreou said farewell to the Greek people before meeting with Greece's president.
While we say farewell to summer Mac whisper of guilt.
- While we say farewell to summer Mac whisper of guilt.
- And let us say farewell for now, these beautiful Shiseido Ordos.
Examples
-
I have come hurriedly to pay my respects and to say farewell for a while.
-
So it's time for us to say farewell to Vista Village and you to you.
-
Oh, there are so many ways to say farewell.
-
I came to say farewell.
-
Your train leaves within the hour, and my wife would like to say farewell.
-
I had a chance to say farewell to my sister, to wish her the best of luck.
Fiction book (1997) -
Yes, well, this is where we say farewell, my friends.
Fiction book (1999) -
As we say farewell to our friend Sam Wheat, we are reminded of his kindness, his generosity, his buoyancy of spirit.
-
At the end of the ceremony, we gathered to say farewell to the graduates with heartfelt speeches.
-
As she boarded the plane, her family waved and said farewell with tears in their eyes.
Synonyms
562
1.0
To tell someone you are leaving and wish them well
37
3.8
To end a broadcast or show, usually with a final remark
19
1.3
Move your hand back and forth to show you are saying goodbye
5
3.9
Say goodbye to people and go away from a place politely
5
3.5
To say goodbye to someone, often at a special event
1
7.7
To say goodbye and leave politely
To say goodbye to someone in a friendly, informal way
Antonyms
How Emotional
- Informal
2
5.0
- Formal
12
3.8
562
1.0
19
1.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to express goodbye' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'say' (to speak) with 'farewell' (an expression or occasion of parting). This verb + noun collocation follows a common compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the MWE.
Etymology
Say farewell comes from the image of someone speaking a final, formal word as they leave; the parts say (speak) and farewell (a formal 'good-bye') create the picture of using words to end a visit. So, say farewell now means 'to say good-bye' or 'to take leave' in a formal or emotional way.