expression at parting, late 14c., from Middle English faren wel, verbal phrase attested by c.1200 (see fare, v. + well, adv.); usually said to the departing person, who replied with good-bye. As a noun, "a good-bye, a leave-taking," by early 15c. Expression to a fare-thee-well "to the last degree" is by 1884, American English.