funeral
UK /ˈfjuː.nə.ɹəl/ · US /ˈfju.nəɹ.əl/ noun
Also a form of funereal
Forms funerals funerall
- noun A ceremony to honor and remember a deceased person, often distinguished from a memorial service by the presence of the body of the deceased. “Many mourners turned up at the local artist's funeral to pay homage.”
- noun (dated, chiefly in the plural) A funeral sermon.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French funerailles pl (“funeral rites”), from Medieval Latin fūnerālia (“funeral rites”), originally neuter plural of Late Latin fūnerālis (“having to do with a funeral”), from Latin fūnus (“funeral, death, corpse”), origin unknown, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- (“to die”). Singular and plural used interchangeably in English until circa 1700. The adjective funereal is first attested 1725, by influence of Middle French funerail, from Latin funereus, from funus. First attested in 1437.
Displaced native Old English līcþeġnung (literally “dead body service”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The solemn rites used in the disposition of a dead human body, whether such disposition be by interment, burning, or otherwise; esp., the ceremony or solemnization of interment; obsequies; burial; --formerly used in the plural.
- noun The procession attending the burial of the dead; the show and accompaniments of an interment. "The long funerals." Pope.
- adjective Per. taining to a funeral; used at the interment of the dead; as, funeral rites, honors, or ceremonies. Shak. Funeral pile, a structure of combustible material, upon which a dead body is placed to be reduced to ashes, as part of a funeral rite; a pyre.
Etymology [LL. funeralia, prop. neut. pl. of funeralis of a funeral, fr. L. funus, funeris, funeral: cf. F. funérailles.]
Etymology [LL. funeralis. See Funeral, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “funeral”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details