Originally Posted by
7Bear7Scar
The word Godspeed is used to wish a person good fortune or success, as on starting a journey, a new business, etc. It is usually found in expressions of the sort "to bid (a person) Godspeed."
Godspeed is a nominalization of the phrase God speed (you), understanding which depends on two things: speed in this sense means 'to prosper; succeed', which is now archaic, but which is the original sense of the word; and the verb is subjunctive, expressing a wish, with the entire phrase meaning "may God cause you to succeed."
The word Godspeed (which can also be written God-speed) is from Middle English, first found in personal names in the thirteenth century.
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