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adieu

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅dieu

[uh-doo, uh-dyoo; Fr. a-dyœ] interjection, noun, plural a⋅dieus, a⋅dieux [uh-dooz, uh-dyooz; Fr. a-dyœ] .
–interjection
1. good-bye; farewell.
–noun
2. the act of leaving or departing; farewell.

Origin:
1325–75; ME < MF, equiv. to a (< L ad to) + dieu (< L deus god)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·dieu   (ə-dyōō', ə-dōō')   
interj.  Used to express farewell.
n.   pl. a·dieus or a·dieux (ə-dyōōz', ə-dōōz')
A farewell.

[Middle English, from Old French a dieu, (I commend you) to God : a, to (from Latin ad; see ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

adieu 
c.1374, from O.Fr. adieu, from phrase a dieu (vous) commant "I commend (you) to God," from a "to" (from L. ad) + dieu "God," from L. deum, acc. of deus "god," from PIE *deiwos (see Zeus). Originally said to the party left; farewell was to the party setting forth.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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