The name "goedendag" derives from Dutch, usually taken in English sources to have meant "good day",
[2] with reference to the
revolt of Bruges in 1302, at which the guildsmen of Bruges purportedly took over the city by greeting people in the streets, and murdering anyone who answered with a French accent. This derivation of the name may however be spurious. The Flemish themselves referred to the weapon as a "spiked staff" (
gepinde staf). Another theory is that it's related to Germanic/English "dagger", so instead of "good day" it may have meant "good dagger". "Dag(ger)" isn't used anymore in current Dutch, while "goedendag" is still almost correct in current Dutch as "good day".