Word
obituary
Phoneticsobit·u·ary
US/oʊˈbɪtʃuˌɛɹi/
UK/ɒbˈɪtʃɔːɹˌi/
Definition
n. a short article in a newspaper that tells people about someone who has recently died. It usually includes a summary of their life and achievements.
n. a published notice of a death, typically accompanied by a brief biographical account of the deceased person's life and career.
Examples
“I read his obituary in the local paper this morning.”
“The famous actress's obituary highlighted her early work in theatre before she became a Hollywood star.”
“Writing a meaningful obituary requires a delicate balance between factual reporting of a person's life and a respectful tribute to their lasting legacy within the community.”
Examples
simple
“I read his obituary in the local paper this morning.”
contextual
“The famous actress's obituary highlighted her early work in theatre before she became a Hollywood star.”
complex
“Writing a meaningful obituary requires a delicate balance between factual reporting of a person's life and a respectful tribute to their lasting legacy within the community.”
Usage
Often takes the preposition 'for' or 'of' when identifying the subject.
Real-World Examples
“Coolidge’s obituary suggests that he moved to Washington, D.C.” “A “slight figure in a raincoat,” he “seems to be on his way out the door,” per Hockney’s New York Times obituary.” Etymology
PIE word *h₁epi Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin obituārius (“obituary”) + English -ary (suffix denoting something relating to another thing or used in a place). Obituārius is derived from Latin obitus (“act of approaching or going toward, an approach; act of going down, setting; of the sun: sunset; death; destruction, downfall, ruin”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns); while obitus is a noun use of the perfect passive participle of obeō (“to go to meet, go towards; (figurative) to die, pass away, perish; (astronomy) to set”), from ob- (prefix meaning ‘toward’) + eō (“to go, move”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/obituary