So long

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esara123@hotmail.com - 26 Jan 2007 04:13 GMT

I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they want to
say bye, but why so long??

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Evan Kirshenbaum - 26 Jan 2007 06:05 GMT

> I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they want to
> say bye, but why so long??

MWCD11 says "origin unknown". The OED invites us to compare German
"so lange", but says nothing further.

My own surmise is that it either comes from something like "May it not
be so long until we see each other again" or from a written closing on
the order of "So long as I live, I will remain your servant"

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Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
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Peacenik - 26 Jan 2007 16:01 GMT

> > I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they want to
> > say bye, but why so long??
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> be so long until we see each other again" or from a written closing on
> the order of "So long as I live, I will remain your servant"

I've heard it originates from "salaam", but I don't remember the source.

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Evan Kirshenbaum - 26 Jan 2007 16:19 GMT

>> > I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they
>> > want to say bye, but why so long??
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> I've heard it originates from "salaam", but I don't remember the
> source.

That's one I hadn't heard, though it makes sense. Unfortunately, when
you google the two phrases, what comes up on top is an _English Today_
article entitled "Folk etymology: alive and kicking in the 21st
century", whose abstract reads

The author focuses on the approach to word origins widely known as
'folk etymology', which he regards as 'alive and kicking in
America's leading daily newspapers, duping many a gullible
reader'. To do this, he considers the etymology of the phrase 'so
long' when used to mean 'good-bye'.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the full article (and I'm not
about to pay ten bucks to get it), but the snippet available on the
Google results page reads

ory that so long comes from salaam, but that. this is a folk
etymology, but affirm that it makes. good sense to derive the
expression from 'Don't ...

which doesn't make a whole lot of sense but seems to indicate a
negative evaluation.

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Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |There's been so much ado already
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |that any further ado would be
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |excessive.
| Lori Karkosky
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(650)857-7572

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

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Oleg Lego - 26 Jan 2007 17:44 GMT

The Evan Kirshenbaum entity posted thusly:

>>> > I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they
>>> > want to say bye, but why so long??
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>article entitled "Folk etymology: alive and kicking in the 21st
>century", whose abstract reads

Checking OneLook gives a list of dictionaries, one of which, the
_Online Etymology Dictionary_ has quite a few speculations in its
article. They speak of the same origin possibilities as we have, and
additionally, origins from Scandinavian, Hebrew, and nautical sources.

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Oleg Lego - 26 Jan 2007 06:41 GMT

The esara123@hotmail.com entity posted thusly:

>I hear people saying "so long" when they leave.. I think they want to
>say bye, but why so long??

'bye' is a shortening of a parting remark. It's short for 'goodbye',
which in turn is short for the archaic 'god be with you'.

"farewell" is a shortening of "fare well", or "fare thee well".

"So long" is probably a shortening of "so long as we are apart, fare
thee well", though the origins are not well known, and the subject of
speculation.

Many people don't like to say 'bye' or 'goodbye' to people they hope
to (or are likely to) see again. It sounds too final. That leaves
phrases like "bye for now", "farewell", "See you" (or "see you
later"), or even just "later". "So long" fits in this category.

For some reason, I tend to use "Take care", which has a very similar
meaning to "farewell".

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

So long