Death-name
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Death-name is a noun meaning A name that is given (usually by a priest) to refer to someone who has died so that the living can avoid using the actual name of the dead person.
Meaning
A name that is given (usually by a priest) to refer to someone who has died so that the living can avoid using the actual name of the dead person.
Example Sentences
Most death-names are not actually names but titles, given to persons on the death of a close relative.
The priest at that time would give a death-name for the deceased, eventually to be inscribed on a stone monument.
Using death-names instead of usual names is their way to protect the feelings of the bereft (using the name of the dead might arouse sad feelings).
Indeed, those old insurgents, of 1868, are gradually being canonized with crimson death-names, because they neither knew dishonor, no, nor suffered it.
Word Forms
- death-names
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include necronym, deadname, notname, toname, nickname, whatshisname.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.