eulogy

Definition

An oration to honor a deceased person, usually at a funeral.

Etymology

From Middle English wloge (“commendation of the virtues of a deceased person”), from Latin eulogium, apparently from a confusion between ēlogium (whence English elogium, elogy) and eulogia (from Ancient Greek εὐλογία (eulogía, “praise”), whence English eulogia); equivalent to eu- + logia ("good words"). Doublet of eulogium.

Example Sentences

• "It was the prettiest and most luxurious little sitting-room I had ever seen; and I admired it with the warmest enthusiasm. The solemn servant was far too highly trained to betray the slightest satisfaction. He bowed with icy deference when my terms of eulogy were all exhausted, and silently opened the door for me to go out into the passage again."
• "The Southampton striker, who also struck a post late on, was being serenaded by the Wembley crowd before the end and should probably brace himself for some Lambert-mania over the coming days but, amid the eulogies, it should not overlook the deficiencies that were evident in another stodgy England performance."