goodbye：被压缩成一个词的祝福
We say "goodbye" so often that we never stop to think about what it means. But if you look at its history, you'll find a little blessing hidden inside it.
Around 400 years ago, in Shakespeare's time, people often said "God be with you" when they parted. It was a way of wishing someone a safe journey and good luck. But as you might expect, a phrase that people said dozens of times a day wasn't going to stay that long. In speech, "God be with you" got squashed together, and in letters people wrote it in shortened forms like "God b'wy" and "godbwye".
At the same time, English already had several other friendly greetings that began with "good", such as "good morning", "good day" and "good night". Over time, people began to say and write the word as if it started with "good" too. And so "godbwye" slowly turned into "goodbye".
Many languages have farewells with similar hidden meanings. The Spanish "adiós" means "to God". The French "adieu" also means "to God". The Japanese "sayōnara" originally meant something like "if that is how it must be".
These days, of course, English speakers often skip "goodbye" altogether and just say "bye", "see you", "take care" or, in New Zealand and Australia, "see ya later". But the next time you say goodbye to someone, remember that you're really wishing them well.
我们说“goodbye”说得太频繁了，从来没有停下来想过它到底是什么意思。可如果你去翻翻它的历史，就会发现里面藏着一句小小的祝福。
大约 400 年前，也就是莎士比亚的时代，人们分别时常说“God be with you”（愿上帝与你同在），用来祝对方一路平安、好运相伴。不过可想而知，一句每天要说几十遍的话，是不会一直保持那么长的。在口语里，“God be with you”被挤压到了一起；在信里，人们把它写成“God b'wy”“godbwye”这样的缩写形式。
与此同时，英语里已经有好几句以“good”开头的友好问候语，比如“good morning”（早上好）、“good day”（日安）和“good night”（晚安）。慢慢地，人们也开始把这个词当成以“good”开头来说、来写。就这样，“godbwye”渐渐变成了“goodbye”。
很多语言里的告别语，都藏着类似的含义。西班牙语的“adiós”意思是“交给上帝”，法语的“adieu”也是“交给上帝”的意思。日语的“さようなら”，原本的意思大概是“既然如此，那就这样吧”。
当然，如今说英语的人常常连“goodbye”都省了，直接说“bye”“see you”“take care”，或者像在新西兰和澳大利亚那样，说一句“see ya later”。不过下次你跟别人说再见时，别忘了，你其实是在祝福对方。