HVE YOU ever wondered where the word “goodbye” comes from?
I recently stumbled on an interesting linguistic trivia: “goodbye” was originally a contraction of an old English blessing – “God be with ye.”
Over time, God be with ye became God b’wye… and eventually, goodbye.
In other words, what we now say casually as a farewell was once a little prayer:
“May God be with you.”
And of course, this immediately reminded me of something very close to home.
We Kapampangans have our own version of this: “Dispu!”
A contraction of “Dios pu!”
It’s what we say when we meet someone on the road, when we greet a friend, or when we knock at a door and ask to be welcomed in.
Where Tagalogs say “Tao po!”
we Kapampangans say “Dios po!”
It’s as if we are saying:
“May I come in, in God’s name?”
or even more simply:
“God be with you.”
I still remember how the older gentlemen used to do it.
They would tip their hat slightly to an acquaintance they meet along the way and say,
“Dispu, abe!”
And the other would reply with the same blessing:
“Dispu!”
What fascinates me is this:
The same blessing that once meant goodbye became useful also for hello.
And this way of speaking is not unique to Kapampangans.
In other Philippine languages, the name of God also appears naturally in greetings and expressions of gratitude.
Bicolanos, for instance, thank each other by saying:
“Dios mabalos!”
(“May God repay you.”)
Ilocanos likewise say:
“Dios ti agngina!”
(“God is the one who gives grace.”)
Perhaps because our ancestors understood something we often forget today:
Every greeting is already a blessing.
And every farewell is already a prayer.
In a world that is becoming more hurried, more secular, and often more impersonal, I find it comforting that our language still carries traces of faith—quietly hidden inside everyday words.
Sometimes, even a simple greeting is already a confession of faith.
Dispu!
