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obituary

 - 3 dictionary results

o⋅bit⋅u⋅ar⋅y

[oh-bich-oo-er-ee] noun, plural -ar⋅ies, adjective
–noun
1. a notice of the death of a person, often with a biographical sketch, as in a newspaper.
–adjective
2. of, pertaining to, or recording a death or deaths: the obituary page of a newspaper.

Origin:
1700–10; < ML obituārius, equiv. to L obitu(s) death (see obit ) + -ārius -ary


o⋅bit⋅u⋅ar⋅ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·bit·u·ar·y   (ō-bĭch'ōō-ěr'ē)   
n.   pl. o·bit·u·ar·ies
A published notice of a death, sometimes with a brief biography of the deceased.

[Medieval Latin obituārius, (report) of death, from Latin obitus, death, from past participle of obīre, to meet, meet one's death : ob-, toward; see ob- + īre, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]
o·bit'u·ar'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

obituary 
1706, "register of deaths," from M.L. obituarius "a record of the death of a person," lit. "pertaining to death," from L. obitus "departure, a going to meet, encounter" (a euphemism for "death"), from stem of obire "go to meet" (as in mortem obire "meet death"), from ob "to, toward" + ire "go." Meaning "record or announcement of a death, esp. in a newspaper, and including a brief biographical sketch" is from 1738. A similar euphemism is in O.E. cognate forðfaran "to die," lit. "to go forth."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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