obituary

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obituary

  • /əˈbɪt͡ʃʊ(ə)ɹi/ UK
  • /əˈbɪt͡ʃɹi/ UK
  • /əˈbɪtjʊ(ə)ɹi/ UK
  • /əʊ-/ UK
  • /əˈbɪt͡ʃəˌwɛɹi/ US
  • /əˈbɪt͡ʃuˌɜɹi/ US
  • /əˈbɪt͡ʃəɹi/ US
  • /oʊ-/ US

Where it comes from

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”).

noun obituaries

  1. A brief notice of a person's death, especially one published in a newspaper or other publication; also (obsolete), the section of a newspaper where notices of deaths are published. [N]ot one in fifty of the actual disasters and deaths by casualties in the fishery, ever finds a public record at home, however transient and immediately forgotten that record. Do you suppose that that poor fellow there, who this moment perhaps caught by the whale-line off the coast of New Guinea, i

    Similar: obit

  2. broadly A brief biography of a person (especially one who is well-known) who has recently died, usually describing their life and achievements, particularly in the form of an article in a news publication or an item in a news broadcast. You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"
  3. figuratively An announcement or description of the end of something. Mouths were agape on the announcement of England's starting lineup, the return of Keira Walsh appearing miraculous 10 days after she left the pitch on a stretcher in agony. Walsh’s World Cup obituaries were written; she was England's most valuable player, irreplaceable.
  4. historical A register of deaths, especially one maintained by a religious institution; a necrology.

adjective more obituary · most obituary

  1. Relating to obituaries. He is the paper's obituary editor.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: necrology, obit, tribute, eulogy, necrologue, death notice, remembrance, obituary notice, in memoriam, epitaph, parentation, obsequie, eloge, agony column, funeral, funerall

Translations

Every language

noun brief notice of a person’s death, especially one published in a newspaper

Españolobituario, esquela, necrología
한국어부음 bueum, 부고 bugo, 행장 haengjang
日本語訃 fu, 訃報 fuhō, 死亡記事 shibō kiji
中文訃告 /讣告 fùgào, 訃聞 /讣闻 fùwén
हिन्दीइत्तेला-ए-वफ़ात ittelā-e-vafāt
Kiswahilitanzia
Portuguêsobituário
Françaisnécrologie, nécro
DeutschNekrolog, Parte, Partezettel, Todesanzeige, Totenzettel, Traueranzeige
Italianonecrologio
Ελληνικάαναγγελία θανάτου anangelía thanátou, νεκρολογία nekrología
Românănecrolog
Русскийнекроло́г nekrológ
Tiếng Việtcáo phó
العربيةنَعْي naʕy
עבריתמוֹדַעַת אֵבֶל moda'át evel

noun brief biography of a person who has recently died

Españolobituario
日本語死亡者略歴 shibousharyakureki
中文訃告 /讣告 fùgào, 訃聞 /讣闻 fùwén
Portuguêsobituário
Françaisnécrologie
DeutschNachruf, Nekrolog
Italianonecrologio
Ελληνικάνεκρολογία nekrología
Românănecrolog
Русскийнекроло́г nekrológ
עבריתמוֹדַעַת אֵבֶל moda'át evel, נקרולוג

noun announcement or description of the end of something

DeutschAbgesang, Abschreiben

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Cite this
MLA

"obituary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obituary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

obituary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obituary

Chicago

"obituary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obituary.

BibTeX
@misc{obituary_2026,
  title = {obituary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obituary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}