obsequy

American  

[ob-si-kwee] / ˈɒb sɪ kwi /

noun

obsequies plural

1. a funeral rite or ceremony.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• obsequies
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

Obsequies are the traditional ceremonies that happen at a funeral. Your great-grandmother's obsequies may include prayers, poetry readings, and songs sung by the mourners. This word is most often used in its plural form, obsequies, to mean "funeral rites." All the traditions associated with a person's death, funeral, or burial, as well as any rituals of mourning, can be described as obsequies. Sometimes these are religious, like singing particular hymns or reciting specific prayers, while others are more personal. The Latin source of obsequy is obsequium, "dutiful compliance," influenced by exsequiae, "funeral rites."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

obsequy obsequies

"Whether derided or praised," the historian Robert Rotberg has written, "he remains an object of calumny, obsequy and inquiry."

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2015

And "You knew Mr. Bowen was no longer living?" she said, with fit obsequy of tone.

From Indian Summer by Howells, William Dean

I was glad when it was over; our own simple service, read by the merest layman, would surely have been a more fitting obsequy.

From Border and Bastille by Lawrence, George A. (George Alfred)

From this session interdict   Every fowl of tyrant wing   Save the eagle, feather'd king: Keep the obsequy so strict.

From Bulchevy's Book of English Verse by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir

The baylan gave a talk or a prolix prayer, and finished by saying: “May the dead receive that obsequy, by giving good fortune to the living.”

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 21 of 55 1624 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by Robertson, James Alexander

I don’t want to add here to the emotional obsequies being written for the Washington Post, after its latest round of contraction last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

The diplomatic focus will be on the part of St Peter's Square where presidents and prime ministers, princes and monarchs will sit waiting for the obsequies to begin.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2025

That knowledge sits uncomfortably with what has come before, not because the leaden language of the scripted obsequies is persuasive, but because the grieving citizens are so real.

From New York Times ● May 6, 2021

I can tell you, within hours, how many TV viewers tuned in for the Thatcher obsequies.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 20, 2013

For three days, and as many nights, the obsequies of St. Columba were unremittingly celebrated; and at the close of that time, his sacred remains were, with all religious solemnity, deposited in the tomb.

From The Life of Saint Columba, Abbot, and Apostle of the Northern Picts by Anonymous