I was looking at a wedding thinger and I noticed that the groom's dad was deceased. It got me thinking, why do they call deceased "late". Just curious.
2007-08-23 16:07:30 · 8 answers · asked by Brian I 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
I believe it's because "late" refers only to the recently deceased. Think of the word "lately" which refers to something that happened recently.
2007-08-23 16:17:59 · answer #1 · answered by newtobigd78 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I started wondering that when I started doing genealogy. From what I've been able to determine, it's from the notion that someone was "lately" in existence - I'm not sure if that explains it well, as it's more of a "feel" for the word than anything. The notion that something happened "of late" is the same idea. Perhaps it's a bit of an old-fashioned notion that someone who has died is remembered as though he/she were here only recently, but again, that's just my best guess.
2007-08-23 16:17:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
My understanding is that "late" is supposed to be used when the person has recently died. I guess it is supposed to something like, "Lately, this person was Bill Stewart, but now he's not because he's a corpse." (Personally, I believe that the person's spirit is still living, so I don't think that's quite right...)
2007-08-23 17:12:19 · answer #3 · answered by drshorty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The person who is no more.
There was a clerk who used to come late everyday in the office. Colleagues teased him "Mr. Late". He was driving through a crowded road in peak hours and was careful & in driving. The clerk retorted, "It is better to be called "Mr. Late" than to be called "Late. Mr. ...."
2007-08-23 16:23:05 · answer #4 · answered by Joymash 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hehehe lmao emgeealex...!
Um, sorry.. I guess it has somehing to do with the deceased being a part of the past and not the present.
2007-08-23 16:17:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because from now on, if they are invited somewhere they will definitely be late.
2007-08-23 16:19:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because he will be late to his next birthday.
2007-08-23 17:36:35 · answer #7 · answered by Kagome 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He'll be really late to that wedding. Don't wait.
2007-08-23 16:12:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋