Word Of The Issue: Okay, Byeeee!

We already went over the greeting góðan daginn in a previous issue. It means “good day,” in case you weren’t paying attention. But what do you say when you’re ready to part ways with a person? It’s time to get blessed.

“Bless” is the word to wield when you’re ready to end a conversation and go along your merry way. It’s used as “goodbye” or “bye” but its meaning is actually the same as in English: bless, as in “bless you” or “have a blessed day.”

If you want to be more formal in bidding someone farewell, you can say “vertu blessaður,” which would still mean a simple “goodbye” but translates literally to “be blessed.” If you want to deviate entirely from the blessed theme of this article, you can also say goodbye with “vertu sæl/sæll,” which means “be happy.” Wanting to skew more informal? Double it up! “Bless bless” is akin to a chipper “bye bye,” while “bless bless klúkan sex” is a nonsense sing-songey “bye bye” that you’ll hear kids saying to each other while parting ways.

Does the use of bless as a greeting stem from Iceland’s adoption of Christianity in the year 1000? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m no linguist and my goal here is to help you sound Icelandic, but understand the etymology of common words and phrases. It turns out the word bless stems from the Old English “bletsian,” which meant “to consecrate with blood.” How very metal.

Bless = goodbye may be a difficult equation for you to grasp if you’re from the American south where a “bless your heart” is akin to telling someone to fuck off, or from the U.K., where “bless” is an expression of warmth or pleasure spurred by someone doing something nice. But shake those meanings from your noggin. You’re in Iceland now. Bless.