The go-to parting phrase in English, “goodbye,” looks rather secular by comparison — it just means to part on good terms, right? Not quite. “Goodbye” is actually a contraction of the phrase “God be with ye.” It started popping up around the 1570s (spelled “godbwye”). The “God” part of “goodbye” likely gained an extra “o” over time to be consistent with other common English salutations, such as “good morning” and “good night.”
