The word godspeed has a long history in travel, but it applies to many other situations as well. Learn godspeed’s meaning and how to use it properly!
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Kevin
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January 21, 2022
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The term godspeed is one of the most historically exciting words in the English language. It has a long legacy as a greeting, an interjection, a tolken of good cheer, and even a religious phrase.
In the modern world, godspeed retains many of its old meanings. Thanks to its incredibly antiquated legacy, it’s one of the most exciting words you can use today!
If you want to learn how to bring a smile to someone’s face and bid them quick travels at the same time, the word godspeed is perfect for you! Here is what it means, its etymological and historical origins, and how you can use this word in the modern world.
What Does Godspeed Mean?
The word godspeed is an expression of good wishes for a successful journey to someone about to leave for a new destination. The term is often used humorously in the modern world, but it still carries along with it tidings for a person’s success on a quick and safe journey.
Throughout history, godspeed has always been a way to wish someone good luck, success, and prosperity in their travels and adventures. Godspeed has religious origins, so the word was a thoughtful and biblical way to wish a person safety in their travels.
Where Does the Word Godspeed Come From?
The word godspeed has its roots in the middle English God spede. Instead of coming directly from a wide variety of different words in Greek or Latin, godspeed is actually a contraction of the word God and old English’s spēdan, or speed.
Telling someone “godspeed you” was a prevalent way to wish blessings upon a person’s journey and was proof of your spiritual support, even if they had little chance of success.
The history of the word godspeed is even more interesting than you might think. Due to the nature of middle English spelling, there were many different ways to spell and say this word or phrase. Some of these include:
- god spēd
- god speid
- God spede yow
The Oxford English Dictionary shows that the first use of this phrase in English literature was in a knight’s tale called Sir Tristrem, written in the 1300s. One quote from the book is “may bidde god me spede,” which retains much of the same meaning as today’s godspeed.
Another very early example of the phrase was in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, which includes the line, “God spede yow go forth and ley on faste.”
It is important to note that even after these preliminary uses, it wasn’t until around the 1500s that the phrase god spede became popularized in normal conversation. However, the concept behind the word godspeed is much older than the English language itself.
The concept of godspeed was discovered for the first time in the Christian Bible in an early manuscript of Genesis. When God promises to give Abraham and Sarah a son, the concept of godspeed is used. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, it is also used in the King James Version and Tyndale Bible in 2 John 1:10-11.
How to Use Godspeed in Modern Conversation
While the historical meanings and spellings of godspeed are extensive and exciting, Merriam Webster shows that modern spelling has finally come to a consensus.
Since its usage in old English terms, the word godspeed has become what it is today — an old-fashioned way to wish someone well on their voyage with a little bit of vintage pizzaz. If you want to wish someone good success on a daring endeavor and the words adieu or au revoir don’t seem to fit the situation, godspeed might just be the best word to use.
Here are some common synonyms that you can use in place of the word godspeed, according to Power Thesaurus:
- Bon voyage
- Adios
- Cheerio
- Farewell
- Adieu
- Pleasant journey
- Happy landing
- Best of luck
- Ciao
- God bless
- Best wishes
- Sayonara
- Toodle-oo
Examples of Godspeed in Real Sentences
The best way to learn how to use a word is by seeing it used in practical conversations and then trying it yourself! If you want to incorporate this word into your daily vocabulary, take a look at these sentences, and try to use them on your own:
- Immediately after watching the third person sing, the judges wished him godspeed to Hollywood — the next stage of the contest.
- Someone yelled “godspeed!” from a random house as I drove down the street to begin my journey to Princeton University.
- To wish John Glenn luck, ground control said “godspeed” as he and the other astronauts lifted off in the capsule Friendship 7.
- Her grandmother wished her godspeed as she walked out of the garden gate and to the courts of law for her first copyright case.
- There was true concern and understanding in his eyes as he wished me godspeed.
- I didn’t know that you could name a song godspeed without putting it in the song lyrics — I never heard it in the vocals, but I might be wrong.
- Frank Ocean called to bid me godspeed on my hike despite the almighty mountains between me and my destination.
- My friends all bid me godspeed as I left to sign the publishing deal at Harpercollins publishers for the 5th edition of my first story.
- The whole town wished us godspeed as we went off to live up to our American heritage.
- Henry James, I hope you godspeed in your all-nighter to finish your essay about Shakespeare.
- When people wish me godspeed, it makes me feel like I’m the main character in one of those old movies.
- The 14th-century speakers were all saying godspeed, but it didn’t mean the same thing then that it means now.
- In some ways, godspeed almost feels like an oath to me.
After you read these sentences, start wishing people godspeed yourself!
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