bye
UK: baɪ | US: baɪ
n. a shortened form of "goodbye," used to express farewell
n. (sports) a situation where a player or team advances without competing (e.g., "a bye in the tournament")
The word "bye" originated as a contraction of "goodbye," which itself derives from the phrase "God be with ye" (archaic "you"). Over time, "God be with ye" was shortened to "goodbye," and later further abbreviated to "bye." The morpheme "by" reflects proximity or secondary status (as in "bypass"), while "e" is a remnant of the archaic "ye." In sports, "bye" likely evolved from the idea of being "passed by" or exempted from a round.
She waved and said, "Bye!" before leaving the room.
"Bye for now!" he called as he boarded the train.
The top-seeded team got a bye in the first round.
I’ll see you tomorrow—bye!
He received a bye due to his opponent’s withdrawal.