Any expression for the dead?

[Mehrgan]

Hi,
Could anyone please tell me if there is any informal term or expression which is used either before or after the name of a person who's passed away? Is that common to use such terms in daily speech to show our respect for that person?


Thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

The word is "late."

Her late husband.
The late Jim Morrison.

 

[TheParser]

Hi,
Could anyone please tell me if there is any informal term or expression which is used either before or after the name of a person who's passed away? Is that common to use such terms in daily speech to show our respect for that person?


Thanks.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Mehrgan,


I believe that sometimes we also use the word departed,

especially (as one dictionary tells me) if that person has

died recently:

My dear departed mother, Marion.


THANK YOU

 

[Mehrgan]

Thanks to both dear posters. Helpful examples!

Best!

 

[Rover_KE]

Another useful word is deceased.

This site gives many examples of its use:

"deceased" - Google News

Rover

 

[Mehrgan]

Another useful word is deceased.

This site gives many examples of its use:

"deceased" - Google News

Rover

Ta! Please, could you tell me which one does NOT sound odd in everyday informal usage? (Especially as a way to show respect both for the people who've lost them, and the person passed away.)

 

[BobK]

Ta! Please, could you tell me which one does NOT sound odd in everyday informal usage? (Especially as a way to show respect both for the people who've lost them, and the person passed away.)

'The late [lamented]' is commonly used colloquially. 'The departed' sounds to me rather formal - and a bit politically-correct - likely to be used by funeral directors trying to sell silk-lined coffins ;-). 'Deceased' is formal - administrative or forensic. Also you can just - colloquially - name the dead person and add something like 'who has left us' or 'who left us N years ago' (More formally, you could say 'passed on' or 'passed away' instead of 'left'. The Am English for this is just 'passed'.)

In prayers, Christians mention 'the faithful departed' (where 'faithful' means 'also Christian'!) and on gravestones a pious euphemism for 'died' is 'went to sleep [in the Lord]' or 'departed this life'.

b

 

[Vidor]

not a teacher

"He's taking a dirt nap."

"He has assumed room temperature."

:-D

 

[apex2000]

I suggest that neither of those is showing any respect, which is what the OP was looking for.

 

[Copy-editor]

Re: not a teacher

The first answers were all sensible and correct. Perhaps RIP (Rest In Peace) should get a mention -- it's not always formal.

'Assumed room temperature' Not exactly flowing with respect but very funny.

As it's the time of the year for being jolly, may I suggest that, to add a personal element, we use a term that is related to the person who has ceased being. For instance a musician could be said to be decomposing; a philosopher, deconstructing; even an unfriendly dog could be said to have disembarked ...

 

[Raymott]

Re: not a teacher

The first answers were all sensible and correct. Perhaps RIP (Rest In Peace) should get a mention -- it's not always formal.

'Assumed room temperature' Not exactly flowing with respect but very funny.

As it's the time of the year for being jolly, may I suggest that, to add a personal element, we use a term that is related to the person who has ceased being. For instance a musician could be said to be decomposing; a philosopher, deconstructing; even an unfriendly dog could be said to have disembarked ...

And a pedestrian knocked over on a zebra crossing can be described as having passed over to the other side.

 

[apex2000]

Re: not a teacher

And a pedestrian knocked over on a zebra crossing can be described as having passed over to the other side.

Ahem. But did s/he actually get there?

 

[Raymott]

Re: not a teacher

Ahem. But did s/he actually get there?

Obviously not on the one hand, though just as obviously, yes (some would argue) on the other.

 

[BobK]

Re: not a teacher

And a pedestrian knocked over on a zebra crossing can be described as having passed over to the other side.

...which reminds me: 'on the other side' is an entirely respectful euphemism that people use with the meaning 'dead'. Its use suggests that the user has certain beliefs of a spiritual nature (not necessarily religious).

b