Exequy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛksɪkwi/

Definitions

1. A ceremonial observance that honors the dead occurs during burial rites while paying respect to their memory through ritual practices
2. A formal ceremony or procession held to honor and bury a deceased person, showing respect through tradition
3. The ritual event surrounding the burial of someone who has died, often involving a solemn march or gathering

Etymology: "Exequy" is a back-formation: English speakers took the plural "exequies" (funeral rites), treated the final "-ies" as if it were a plural ending, and stripped it away to create a singular noun. The plural itself came into English from Old French "exequies," which in turn descended from Latin "exsequiae," meaning a funeral or a seeing-off procession. The Latin word was built from "exsequi," to follow out or accompany to the end, so the original emphasis lay on the journey of the body away from the living rather than on the grave itself. That sense of accompaniment is what the Latin root preserves. A funeral procession was, at heart, a company of mourners escorting the dead on their final passage, and the word carried that act of following along with it. The English singular "exequy" therefore names a whole ceremony of escort and farewell, not simply the burial.