What's the etymology for "the late" so-and-so, signifying that they've died?

Question

I've been curious about our use of "the late" so-and-so signifying that a person is dead. I don't even know where to start, but my best psudo-guess is that someone sometime ago was late for dinner one night because of his or her untimely death and the phrase stuck.

Answer 1

Actually, "the late" can be used more broadly than that, e.g., "our late treasurer" does NOT necessarily mean he is now dead! It amounts to the same as "former".

This use of "late" is NOT connected to the sense of "not on time", but to the meaning of the word as "in the RECENT past". Compare expressions like "of late", "lately" (that is, recently), "late-breaking news" and "the very latest fashions!"

In the same way "the late so-and-so" actually refers to their RECENT demise.

Answer 2

On questions of English etymology ALWAYS start with the Oxford English Dictionary. There is nothing else in the world like it for any language. It is available at most larger libraries. If you are a college student it is usually available on-line through your library. I'm kind of tired tonight, so I don't want to stand up and look this up for you. Sorry, but that tells you where to start next time.

EDIT: Bruhaha did a great job of answering, give him the points :)

Answer 3

the late, the recent, not now