funeral
/ˈfju.nəɹ.əl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.37 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
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.
adj
Example Sentences
- "Many mourners turned up at the local artist's funeral to pay homage."
- "The taking Away of Righteous & Merciful Perſons muſt be taken to Heart, APPLIED IN A SERMON AT THE FUNERALLS OF Mʳⁱˢ ANNE-MARY CHILD. Wife of THOMAS CHILD Eſq. of North-wick in the Pariſh of Blockley. Worceſter-ſhire.[…]TO THE Exemplarily Vertuous Gentle-woman, his much honoured friend, Mʳˢ ANNE CHILD, Eldeſt daughter of THOMAS CHILD of Northwicke Eſquire. AS I mean not an exerciſe for your modeſty by a flattering Epiſtle, ſo neither doe I intend the renewing of your ſorrows, by preſenting you with the plaine Sermon preach’t at the funerals of your bleſſed Mother."
- "All was funeral gloom and hope never whispered its cheering promises there."
- "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."
- "There was something dramatic and theatrical in the very funeral ceremonies with which Demetrius was honored."
- "The very funeral pageantry disguised behind-the-scenes struggles for control over Sidney's image."
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”).
Origin
- Source language: Middle French
- First known use: First attested in 1437
Word Breakdown
- Root: funerailles, fūnerālia, fūnerālis, fūnus, *dʰew-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfju.nəɹ.əl/
- British English: /ˈfjuː.nə.ɹəl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
funerals (plural)
funerall (alternative, obsolete)
more funeral (comparative)
most funeral (superlative)