The position of a person or team in a tournament or competition who draws no opponent in a particular round so advances to the next round unopposed, or is awarded points for a win in a league table; also the phantom opponent of such a person or team.
"The old manuscript used an archaic 'y' in every instance where a modern scribe would write 'bee'."
Obsolete spelling of bee
In plain English: Bye (noun: Obsolete spelling of bee) Plain English Definition: It's an old-fashioned way to spell "bee," referring to a social gathering with games and activities.
"The village held a bye to determine who would represent them in the county fair's baking competition."
Usage: Bye (noun, obsolete) refers to an archaic term for a type of contest or competition, like a spelling bee or pie-eating contest. You likely won't encounter it outside of historical texts; use "contest" or "competition" instead.
Goodbye.
"She waved and said bye as she walked out the door."
Obsolete spelling of by
"The obsolete spelling bye appears in several old texts from the seventeenth century."
A surname.
"Several famous athletes, including tennis legend Byeon Mi-jeong and swimmer Ryan Lochte's teammate Andrew Bye, have carried the surname into professional sports history."
Bye is a variant spelling of by that traces back to the Old English word bī, meaning "being near." The term entered modern usage primarily as a shortened farewell derived from this original sense of proximity.