obsequy
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English obseque, from Old French obseque, osseque, from Latin obsequiī (“complaisant, yielding”), alteration of obsequia (“compliance”) (by confusion, in association with exsequia (“funeral rites”), from exsequī (“follow or accompany to the grave”)).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
obsequy (plural obsequies)
- The last office for the dead.
- (chiefly in the plural) A funeral rite or service.
- 1478, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales:
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- It was a rather ghastly ceremony, but it was the only means in our power of showing our respect to the faithful dead and of celebrating his obsequies.
- 1919 , Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 13:
- But, to-day, there were no obsequies to observe at all.
Usage notes edit
In modern usage, the word is used mainly in the plural – obsequies – which should not be confused with obsequious.