obsequies

Plural of obsequy; from Middle English obsequias, obsequies, obsequyes, from Latin obsequiae.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔbsɪ.kwiːz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

obsequies pl (plural only)

1. (plural only) Funeral rites.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIX, in Francesca Carrara. , volume III, London: Richard Bentley, , (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 163:

     A murmur of astonishment ran through the chapel. It was hushed instantly, for, at a sign from Lord Avonleigh, the coffin was carried into the vault; and again the voice of the priest was the only sound, breathing the last and solemn benediction of the mournful obsequies.

• the plural only usage is favored by the Oxford Dictionary,^[1] and thus can be considered to be British, whereas Webster's dictionary, with prevalence of the usage in the plural being noted, gives both singular and plural forms of the word.^[2][3]
• in modern usage, not to be confused with obsequious

obsequies

1. plural of obsequy.
2. plural of obsequie.

• The Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus. American Edition. Oxford University Press, 1997
• Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. Random House, 1996.

• Essequibo

obsequies

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of obsequiar

• IPA^(key): /obˈsekjes/
• Rhymes: -ekjes
• Syllabification: ob‧se‧quies

obsequies

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of obsequiar