Etymologically
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obituarius

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 14:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔ.bɪ.tuˈaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [o.bi.tuˈaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

obituārius m (genitive obituāriī or obituārī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin obitus (“death”) + -ārius.[1][2] The noun obitus comes from obeō (“to go to meet, to die”).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Du Cange quotes it from a letter of 1454 about the church of Toulouse, where the obituarius receives the money left for the services for the dead and shares it out.[3]

Semantic evolution

Köbler glosses it both as one who gives money for a requiem mass and as one who receives such money.[4] Wiktionary gives it the sense of an obituary, a register of deaths,[1] and Etymonline takes English obituary (1706, “register of deaths”) from Medieval Latin obituarius, literally “pertaining to death”.[2] It passed also into Italian obituario and Spanish obituario.[1]

Timeline

  • 1454 – A letter concerning Toulouse uses it of the official who distributes money for the anniversaries of the dead.[3]
  • 1706 – Borrowed into English as obituary, a register of deaths.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) An official who collects and distributes money endowed for masses for the dead.[3][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) An obituary, a record of deaths.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de