Etymograph

English

funeral

Funeral is borrowed from Middle French funerailles, from Medieval Latin fūnerālia, from Late Latin fūnerālis, from Latin fūnus ‘funeral’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūnus1‘funeral, death’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfūnerālis1‘of a funeral’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500fūnerālia1‘funeral rites’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600funerailles1‘funeral rites’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1661funeral1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English funeral
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1661, Giles Collier: “The taking Away of Righteous & Merciful Perſons muſt…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūnusWiktionary, English funeral‘funeral, death’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfūnerālisWiktionary, English funeral‘of a funeral’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500fūnerāliaWiktionary, English funeral‘funeral rites’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600funeraillesWiktionary, English funeral‘funeral rites’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1661funeralWiktionary, English funeral. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1661, Giles Collier: “The taking Away of Righteous & Merciful Perſons muſt…”

first attested First attested in 1437 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

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’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- ‘to die’

death, dead, die, dusty, typhus, doze, dwindle, 4 more

Today it means

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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “funeral”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin fūnus / funeral

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