Revised 2015 More entries for "sayonara"
sayonarainterjection, noun, & adjective
Factsheet
What does the word sayonara mean?
There are eight meanings listed in OED's entry for the word sayonara. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the word sayonara?
About 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1870 | 0.007 |
| 1880 | 0.007 |
| 1890 | 0.0067 |
| 1900 | 0.0068 |
| 1910 | 0.0075 |
| 1920 | 0.0083 |
| 1930 | 0.0078 |
| 1940 | 0.0072 |
| 1950 | 0.0079 |
| 1960 | 0.0093 |
| 1970 | 0.011 |
| 1980 | 0.012 |
| 1990 | 0.013 |
| 2000 | 0.014 |
| 2010 | 0.015 |
How is the word sayonara pronounced?
British English
/ˌsʌɪəˈnɑːrə/
sigh-uh-NAR-uh
U.S. English
/ˌsaɪəˈnɑrə/
sigh-uh-NAR-uh
/ˌsɑjəˈnɑrə/
sah-yuh-NAR-uh
Where does the word sayonara come from?
Earliest known use
1860s
The earliest known use of the word sayonara is in the 1860s.
OED's earliest evidence for sayonara is from 1863, in the writing of Rutherford Alcock, diplomatist.
sayonara is a borrowing from Japanese.
Etymons: Japanese sayōnara.
Nearby entries
- say maker, n.1611–
- say making, n.1631–
- sayman, n.1488–9
- say master, n.1548–1888
- sayment, n.a1500
- say mill, n.1850–99
- say-nay, n.1657
- saynite, n.1854–
- sayon, n.1802–
- sayonara, v.1883–
- sayonara, int., n., & adj.1863–
- say-piece, n.1535–1824
- Say's Law, n.1878–
- say-so, n.1637–
- say taking, n.1540–1627
- say-thicker, n.1634–41
- say weaver, n.1565–
- say-well, n.c1390–1876
- say work, n.1710
- sayyid, n. & adj.1625–
- saz, n.1870–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for sayonara, int., n., & adj.
sayonara, int., n., & adj. was revised in June 2015.
sayonara, int., n., & adj. was last modified in July 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into sayonara, int., n., & adj. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
A Supplement to the OED, Volume III (1982)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Citation details
Factsheet for sayonara, int., n., & adj.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- say maker, n.1611–
- say making, n.1631–
- sayman, n.1488–9
- say master, n.1548–1888
- sayment, n.a1500
- say mill, n.1850–99
- say-nay, n.1657
- saynite, n.1854–
- sayon, n.1802–
- sayonara, v.1883–
- sayonara, int., n., & adj.1863–
- say-piece, n.1535–1824
- Say's Law, n.1878–
- say-so, n.1637–
- say taking, n.1540–1627
- say-thicker, n.1634–41
- say weaver, n.1565–
- say-well, n.c1390–1876
- say work, n.1710
- sayyid, n. & adj.1625–
- saz, n.1870–
