A religious origin is still obvious in French adieu, Spanish adiós, Italian addio, Portuguese adeus, and Catalan adéu ("to God", probably a contraction of "I entrust you to God"). In Finland, a religious group named Laestadians uses the form "Jumalan terve" ("God's greeting").
The widespread adoption of adieu forms in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan suggests a shared cultural or religious influence, possibly tied to Christianity.