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Etymology
From English decease + -ed, from Middle English deceas via Old French from Latin d"cessus (departure), equivalent to Latin d"ced-, variation of Latin d"c"dre (to go away).
Pronunciation
Adjective
deceased (not comparable)
- (law): One who has died. In property law, the alternate term decedent is generally used. In criminal law, the deceased refers to the victim of a homicide.
Usage notes
- Not to be confused with diseased (affected with or suffering from disease)
Noun
deceased (plural deceased)
- (law): One who has died. In property law, the alternate term decedent is generally used. In criminal law, the deceased refers to the victim of a homicide.
Usage notes
- Deceased is commonly used in legal and journalistic settings. Departed is most commonly used in religious settings.
This entry is from Wiktionary - Dictionary and thesaurus. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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