sayonarav.
/ˌsʌɪəˈnɑːrə/, U.S. /ˌsɑjəˈnɑrə/, /ˌsaɪəˈnɑrə/ 1. transitive. To send (a person who is leaving) on his or her way with an utterance of ‘sayonara’. Usually with adverb or prepositional phrase as complement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use courteous actions or expressions to [verb (transitive)] > bid farewell to
beteachc1314
bid farewella1400
teacha1400
to beteach one good dayc1400
to bid (also say) adieu (to)c1425
farewella1586
lenvoy1596
adieu1602
speed1726
to tell a person goodbye1853
sayonara1883
1883 J. J. Smith In Eastern Seas x. 127 Ladies bowing and ‘sayonaraing’ each other in musical tones.
1892 R. Kipling Lett. of Trav. (1920) 51 A traveller who has been ‘ohayoed’ into half-a-dozen shops and ‘sayonaraed’ out of half-a-dozen more.
1949 L. H. Crockett Popcorn on Ginza viii. 98 All the little Japanese maids also poured out to wave and ‘Sayonara!’ her off.
1993 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 30 Oct. Prickly headed Buddhist priests kindly sayonara-ing me on my way to the hereafter.
2. intransitive. To say goodbye. Also figurative: to die.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use formal courtesy in act or expression [verb (intransitive)] > bid farewell
to take leavelOE
to latch one's ease, one's leave1377
to take congee1377
fangc1400
adieua1500
to get one's leave?a1513
to take adieu (also farewell)1539
to shake hands1546
congeea1616
to give congeea1645
farewell1930
sayonara1949
1949 Pacific Stars & Stripes 19 Feb. She was informed that the goat had sayonaraed—they had had him the night before in suki-yaki.
1995 Boating Dec. 84/1 Their empty boats are already up on plane, sayonara-ing outbound toward the shelter of..their offshore mothership.
2006 Brandon (Manitoba) Sun 11 June (Community News) 6/4 In keeping with his low-key way, Ken sayonara-ed with..little fan-fare.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sayonaraint.n.adj.
/ˌsʌɪəˈnɑːrə/, U.S. /ˌsaɪəˈnɑrə/, /ˌsɑjəˈnɑrə/ A. int.
1. Chiefly in Japanese contexts: used to express good wishes when parting; ‘goodbye’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous expressions [interjection] > expressions of farewell
farewell1377
farewell itc1385
adieua1393
vale?1555
da-da1573
addio1577
goodbye1578
bye1618
adios1635
bye-bye1639
day-day1697
ta-ta1823
ave1850
sayonara1863
hooray1898
cheero1903
toodle-oo1907
hurroo1913
cheerio1914
pip-pip1919
tooraloo1922
cheery-bye1930
cheers1937
tara1958
ciao1961
toodles1965
tatty-bye1971
toodle-pip1977
1863 R. Alcock Capital of Tycoon I. xxii. 469 Saionara! the salutation of the Japanese, loses nothing in softness by contrast either with the French adieu, or the Italian addio.
1880 Golden Days for Boys & Girls 3 Apr. 71/4 After this speech they all cried: ‘Sayonara (farewell), Momotaro!’
1910 Pacific Monthly Mar. 259/2 He is a bad man. You go away! Sayonara!
1965 R. Hudson & B. Shahn Kuboyama 9 Wives, children, and girlfriends, some of them crying, waved and called ‘sayonara’ to the sailors.
2005 D. Nicholls Understudy 112 ‘Hey, Steve—hold on, will you?’ shouted Josh, gave a solemn little cod-oriental bow to his new friends, said ‘sayonara’ with a Japanese accent, then bounded over.
2. In more general contexts.
a. With to. Used to suggest that something has been finished with, abandoned, or consigned to the past. Cf. goodbye int. 2.
ΚΠ
1920 Theosophist Sept. 546 If she loses her sweetness and charm, she will have lost much more than she gained, and said ‘sayonara’ to the priceless heritage that made her the most lovable woman of the East.
1978 A. Sherman Ship ii. 20 Better to take one last good swig of high-proof and say sayonara to the whole mess.
2001 FHM Feb. 192/1 It was goodbye to my double chin,..and a heart-felt sayonara to the grim roll of grey belly flab that hung over my belt buckle.
2011 D. Eagleman Incognito (2012) iii. 92 If you mistake an attractive mate for an unattractive one, you can say sayonara to a potentially rosy genetic future.
b. Chiefly U.S. Used to express finality with regard to a person's departure, suggesting either leaving for good or (by extension) death. Frequently followed by a non-specific form of address, esp. baby. Cf. goodnight int. 1b.
ΚΠ
1961 Motor Boating Jan. 266/2 They looked hurt when I told them ‘sayonara old bulkhead!’
1977 J. Wambaugh Black Marble (1978) iii. 25 If I ever knew for sure what I suspect about you, Philo, it'd be sayonara, baby.
1980 Indiana (Pennsylvania) Evening Gaz. 6 May 18/3 He's the man-child who makes the Lakers run, and when they run, it's usually sayonara for the other guys.
1991 New York 22 July 23/1 If the FCB came in, it would be sayonara. I would resign.
1998 R. Marcinko & J. Weisman Seal Force Alpha (1999) vi. 120 He capsized, rolled over, and slid onto the deck. Sayonara, asshole.
2000 J. Boyne Thief of Time xxv. 354 So, like, thanks for nine years' worth of your life but sayonara baby.
B. n. Chiefly in Japanese contexts.
1. An instance of saying ‘sayonara’; a valediction; (also) a farewell gesture or action, as a wave. Cf. goodbye n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > [noun] > parting salutation
farewell1393
adieua1425
bonally1488
goodbye1575
vale1583
adios1592
valediction1619
ave1634
vale-dictum1638
sayonara1872
bye-bye1875
hasta la vista1888
valedictory1892
bye1935
arrivederci1938
1861 C. P. Hodgson Resid. at Nagasaki & Hakodate ix. 215 We were escorted to the door by all the ladies and the whole party... After repeated ălĭgātō's, ‘thank you's’, and sўŏnāllă's, ‘adieux’, Mrs. Hodgson fixed an early day for a return visit.]
1872 North-China Herald 15 June 480/3 Having..exchanged a chorus of sayonaras (good-bye), we drop down river in the clear moonlight.
1876 W. E. Griffis Mikado's Empire ii. xvi. 541 Sayonaras and good wishes are exchanged with mutual regret.
1887 H. Knollys Sketches Life Japan iii. 123 Repeated ‘sayonaras’, echoed diminuendo after me.
1905 T. E. Richardson In Japanese Hospitals during War-time 276 My three Japanese friends ran to the end of the platform to wave their sayonaras.
1946 A. Walworth Black Ships off Japan viii. 110 With profuse sayonaras, they shook hands with each of the officers.
2003 A. Meyer Quiet Diplomacy viii. 184 One of the more delightful sayonaras came from Toyosaburo Taniguchi, chairman of the powerful Japanese Textile Federation.
2006 J. L. Armstrong From POW to Blue Angel vi. 83 After bows and sayonaras, Co-hee motioned the prisoners out of the temple.
2. An act of parting or of marking someone's departure. Cf. goodbye n. 2.
ΚΠ
1910 G. T. Ladd Rare Days in Japan iv. 89 An old-fashioned ‘Sayonara’..is an experience which..makes one ashamed of one's self for being the cause of so great unmerited trouble on the part of others.
1952 T. J. Mulvey These are your Sons vii. 146 The Sisters had arranged the children in the stiff and formal formation for the ‘sayonara’.
1960 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 23 Feb. The Sagami Enlisted Men's Wives Club will hold its monthly Tea and Sayonara in the Depot Complex NCO Club at 1 p.m., Thursday.
1965 This is Japan 1966 106 An embarrassing and even disastrous sayonara at Kobe.
2001 Alberni Valley (Brit. Columbia) Times (Nexis) 12 Jan. b3 The Sayonara, as it was called, was held in the Italian Canadian Hall and all enjoyed a fabulous pot luck dinner and loads of great entertainment.
C. adj. (attributive).
1. Chiefly in Japanese contexts: done or given as an expression of good wishes or affection on parting, or as a means of saying goodbye.
ΚΠ
1901 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly Dec. 197/2 January 3d—The sayonara dinner was given.
1972 Mainichi Daily News (Japan) 6 Nov. 7/4 The International Camera Club of Japan will hold a special Sayonara party for outgoing Chairman John Thorpe, Tues., Nov. 8.
1987 BMX Plus! Sept. 55/1 Kozo and his gang threw a barbecue as a ‘sayonara’ present.
2013 Warwick & S. Downs Weekly (Queensland) (Nexis) 14 Aug. 8 Host families assembled at the high school to share stories, jokes and photographs at the Sayonara Party on Tuesday night.
2. Originally in Japanese contexts, but subsequently more widely, both in general use and in baseball.
a. Constituting a final or farewell act; that is done at the time of parting.
ΚΠ
1954 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 12 Mar. The Far East Air Forces Officers' wive's [sic] Guild held a ‘sayonara’ tea yesterday at the FEAF officers' club in Tokyo honoring Mrs. O. P. Weyland, who will leave the Far East late this month.
1962 College Music Symp. 2 21 The most moving single concert from this point of view was our Sayonara concert in Tokyo.
1967 Black Belt Nov. 12/1 The long trip and lack of sleep were to have a noticeable effect on their performance the next evening in their sayonara performance at Tokyo's Budokan.
2000 N.Y. Times Mag. 26 Nov. 27 My head was crammed with reflections, along with the emotional impact of realizing that was my sayonara election.
2008 E. Roberts et al. Live & Work in Japan (ed. 3) 96 Sayonara (leaving) sales can be a particularly good place to pick up those things you will need to make your new home comfortable.
b. Baseball. Designating a hit, esp. a home run, that wins the game.
ΚΠ
1961 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 6 July Kunimatsu then smashed Tiger righthander Masaru Honma for a ‘sayonara’ home run into the rightfield bleachers.
1981 W. J. Miller in W. J. Baker & J. M. Carroll Sports in Mod. Amer. xii. 153 [He] once hit a ‘sayonara home run’ (game-ending homer) in the presence of the emperor.
1989 R. Whiting You gotta have Wa iv. 82 The most exciting moment in Japanese baseball history: a game-winning (or sayonara) home run in the first professional game Emperor Hirohito ever attended.
2003 Economist 26 Apr. 61/3 A few nights later he delivered his first ‘sayonara’ hit, a game-winning run.
2006 Maclean's 10 Apr. 54–6 The Phils are the franchise that, in the 1993 World Series, Gillick's Blue Jays deliriously vanquished on Joe Carter's sayonara home run.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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v.1883
int.n.adj.1863