Why is late used for dead

Send us feedback. See more words from the same century. Accessed 12 Nov. Nglish: Translation of late for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of late for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of late Entry 1 of 2.

Definition of late Entry 2 of 2. Other Words from late Adjective lateness noun. Choose the Right Synonym for late Adjective dead , defunct , deceased , departed , late mean devoid of life.

Examples of late in a Sentence Adjective It happened in late spring. Hurry up or we'll be late for school. Their warning was too late to help him. I've always been a late riser. He made a donation to the school in memory of his late wife. My leg feels dead. See synonyms for dead on Thesaurus. See antonyms for dead on Thesaurus.

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Idioms about dead. See die 1. Dead, deceased, extinct, lifeless refer to something that does not have or appear to have life. Dead is usually applied to something that had life but from which life is now gone: dead trees.

Deceased, a more formal word than dead, is applied to human beings who no longer have life: a deceased member of the church. Extinct is applied to a species, genus, or the like, no member of which is any longer alive: Mastodons are now extinct.

Lifeless is applied to something that may or may not have had life but that does not have it or appear to have it now: The lifeless body of a child was taken out of the water. Minerals consist of lifeless materials. Words nearby dead deaconry , deacon seat , de-acquisition , deactivate , deacylase , dead , dead ahead , dead air , dead-air space , dead-and-alive , dead and buried.

Words related to dead buried , deceased , late , lifeless , asleep , flat , paralyzed , exhausted , lost , spent , tired , unemployed , sure , cold , departed , stiff , boring , still , barren , bygone.

It only takes a minute to sign up. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. I guess I can somewhat see the connection, but it seems tenuous at best. How did this phrase originate and become so widely used? So the word late itself has an interesting etymology. As to the source of its meaning as "deceased", around midc. From this comes the early 15c. The OED does weigh in, actually. As Stephanie Kaye Turner points out, late meaning deceased which has been used since at least seems to have come from using late as an adverb where now we might use lately to mean "not long since but not now ; recently but no longer.

The OED's earliest use of it referring to a deceased person is found in Caxton's Eneydos : "Her swete and late amyable husbonde. I can imagine its widespread use is due to its formality in comparison with the word dead.

It seems much more appropriate as well as respectful to reference the late Mr. Smith than the dead Mr. The grave nature of the word dead is avoided especially in the context of sensitive situations.