funeral

English

Etymology

[1437] 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.

Pronunciation

Noun

funeral (plural funerals)

  1. A ceremony to honour and remember a deceased person. Often distinguished from a memorial service by the presence of the body of the deceased.
    No one likes to go to funerals.
  2. (dated, chiefly in the plural) A funeral sermon.
    • South
      Mr. Giles Lawrence preached his funerals.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

A funeral procession in Peru

funeral (not comparable)

  1. (uncommon) Alternative form of funereal
    • 1852, Benson John Lossing, The Pictorial Field-book of the Revolution, page 367:
      All was funeral gloom and hope never whispered its cheering promises there.
    • 1869, William Carleton, Tubber Derg: Or, The Red Well, page 166:
      Indeed I felt it altogether beautiful; and, as the "dying day-hymn stole aloft," the dim sun-beams fell, through a vista of naked motionless trees, upon the coffin, which was borne with a slower and more funeral pace than before, in a manner that threw a solemn and visionary light upon the whole procession.
    • 1888, Plutarch's Lives: The Translation Called Dryden's - Volume 5, page 153:
      There was something dramatic and theatrical in the very funeral ceremonies with which Demetrius was honored.
    • 1998, Lisa M. Klein, The Exemplary Sidney and the Elizabethan Sonneteer, page 15:
      The very funeral pageantry disguised behind-the-scenes struggles for control over Sidney's image.

See also

References

  • funeral in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • funeral at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin fūnerālis.

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /fu.nəˈɾal/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /fu.neˈɾal/

Adjective

funeral (masculine and feminine plural funerals)

  1. funerary, funeral
    Synonyms: funerari, fúnebre

Noun

funeral m (plural funerals)

  1. (often in the plural) funeral (ceremony)

Further reading

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin fūnerālis, from Latin funus.

Noun

funeral m (plural funerais)

  1. funeral (ceremony to honour and bury a deceased person)

Adjective

funeral m, f (plural funerais, comparable)

  1. funeral (relating to or similar in style or atmosphere to a funeral)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin fūnerālis, from Latin funus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /funeˈɾal/

Adjective

funeral (plural funerales)

  1. funerary, funeral
    Synonyms: funerario, fúnebre

Noun

funeral m (plural funerales)

  1. (often in the plural) funeral (ceremony)

Further reading

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