death

death
\ \ [OE] Like dead, death comes from a Germanic verb base *dau-, which also produced English die. To it was added the abstract noun suffix *-tus, later *-thuz, meaning ‘act, process, condition’. This produced prehistoric Germanic *dauthuz, source of Gothic dauthus, Old Norse dauthr, and Old English dēath. Its modern English descendant, death, thus means literally ‘act or process of dying’, in the same way as birth means ‘act or process of bearing’ and strength means ‘condition of being strong’.
\ \ Cf.DEAD, DIE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Death — (d[e^]th), n. [OE. deth, dea[eth], AS. de[ a][eth]; akin to OS. d[=o][eth], D. dood, G. tod, Icel. dau[eth]i, Sw. & Dan. d[ o]d, Goth. dau[thorn]us; from a verb meaning to die. See {Die}, v. i., and cf. {Dead}.] 1. The cessation of all vital… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • death — n: a permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions: the end of life see also brain death, civil death ◇ Death is usu. defined by statute and for purposes of criminal homicide has been held to include brain death. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary… …   Law dictionary

  • death — W1S1 [deθ] n [: Old English;] 1.) a) [U] the end of the life of a person or animal ≠ ↑birth death of ▪ The death of his mother came as a tremendous shock. ▪ Cancer is the leading cause of death in women. ▪ How Danielle …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Death — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Death (desambiguación). Death Información personal Origen Tampa, Florida, Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • death — [ deθ ] noun *** 1. ) count or uncount the state of being dead: It was clear that Sandra was very close to death. bleed/starve/burn etc. to death: These people will starve to death unless they receive help soon. stab/kick/beat etc. someone to… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Death Jr. — Death Jr. Developer(s) Backbone Entertainment Publisher(s) Konami Platform(s …   Wikipedia

  • death — ► NOUN 1) the action or fact of dying. 2) an instance of a person or an animal dying. 3) the state of being dead. 4) the end of something. ● at death s door Cf. ↑at death s door ● …   English terms dictionary

  • death — [deth] n. [ME deth < OE dēath, akin to OS dōth, OHG tōd, ON dauthi: see DEAD] 1. the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal, or plant 2. [D ] the personification of death, usually pictured as a skeleton in a… …   English World dictionary

  • Death SS — Surnom In Death of Steve Sylvester Pays d’origine  Italie Genre musical Heavy Metal Metal Industriel Années …   Wikipédia en Français

  • death — O.E. deað death, dying, cause of death, in plura, ghosts, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz (Cf. O.S. doth, O.Fris. dath, Du. dood, O.H.G. tod, Ger. Tod, O.N. dauði, Dan. dèd, Swed. död, Goth. dauþas death ), from verbal stem …   Etymology dictionary

  • death — death; death·ful; death·in; death·less; death·like; death·li·ness; death·ling; death·ward; mega·death; death·ly; death·ful·ly; death·less·ly; death·less·ness; death·wards; …   English syllables

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