Obit

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɒbɪt/

Definitions

1. A published announcement notifying that someone has died ; a written record providing details of a person's death and often their life
2. An official statement or notice informing the public of a person's passing ; a formal document that records information about someone's death and legacy
3. A newspaper or online announcement reporting a recent death ; a biographical summary focusing on the deceased and circumstances of their death

Etymology: The short form "obit" is a clipping of "obituary," so the story runs through that longer word. "Obituary" comes from the Medieval Latin "obituarius," meaning a register recording the deaths of people, from the Latin "obitus," which literally meant "going down" or "death." That Latin noun was built from "obīre," "to go down, to die," a verb whose core sense is simply departure or going away from the world. Medieval Christians gave the idea a practical twist. Monasteries and churches kept lists of deaths so that prayers and masses could be said on the anniversary of each person's passing, and these records were the origin of the "obituary" as a document. The Anglo-Norman and Middle French "obit" carried the sense of a funeral service or anniversary Mass, which is why the same root once meant a religious observance rather than a notice in a newspaper. Over time the sense shifted from the church record to the printed announcement, and "obit" was eventually cut down from "obituary" to name the death notice itself.

Synonyms: obituary, death notice, passing, demise, expiration

Antonyms: birth, coming, arrival, beginning, start