obsequy

[ob-si-kwee]

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noun, plural ob·se·quies. Usually obsequies.

a funeral rite or ceremony.

Origin of obsequy

1350–1400; Middle English obseque < Middle French < Late Latin obsequiae, alteration (by confusion with exsequiae funeral rites) of obsequia, plural of Latin obsequium; see obsequious

Can be confusedobsequies obsequious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for obsequy

eulogy

Examples from the Web for obsequy

Historical Examples of obsequy

The second day after his obsequy was done reverently, and on his body laid a tomb of stone and his banner hanging over him.
Chronicle and Romance (The Harvard Classics Series)
Jean Froissart, Thomas Malory, Raphael Holinshed
All below was a dark blue twilight, as if for an obsequy within instead of for one on the roof.
A Case in Camera
Oliver Onions

Word Origin and History for obsequy

late 14c., from Old French obseque, osseque "funeral rites," from Medieval Latin obsequiae, influenced in sense by confusion of Latin obsequium "compliance" (see obsequious) with exsequiae "funeral rites." Now usually in plural, obsequies.