{"id":5891,"date":"2022-09-05T15:57:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=5891"},"modified":"2022-09-05T15:57:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:57:15","slug":"pass-away-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/pass-away-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Pass Away \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you attending a funeral? Instead of saying the person died, you could give it a soft edge by saying they \u2018<strong><em>passed away<\/em><\/strong>.\u2019 This post unpacks the meaning and soring of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The expression <em>\u2018pass away\u2019 <\/em>is a euphemism for someone dying. It\u2019s a polite way of referring to the deceased when you\u2019re at a funeral or wake.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, the family and friends of the deceased individual will cringe if they hear you saying their loved one \u2018<em>died<\/em>.\u2019 Saying <em>\u2018pass away\u2019<\/em> softens the corners of an uncomfortable situation.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cDid you hear about John? He passed away over the weekend from a massive heart attack. The doctor says a combination of bad diet, alcoholism, and smoking brought him to his end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually, we all pass away. No one lives forever, and you\u2019re kidding yourself if you think you\u2019re immortal. Pay attention to life; it goes by real fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur friend, Tyler, passed away on Thursday. He was a great guy, and the doctors are still going through the autopsy to determine the cause of death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would be a shame to see you pass away from a fentanyl overdose. What a waste of life that would turn out to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5892\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away-237x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away-237x300.png 237w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 167px) 100vw, 167px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5893\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away2-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away2-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/pass-away2.jpg 435w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression 'pass away' originates from 15th century England. During this era, people were highly religious, believing every person has a soul that survives their death, leading them to the afterlife.<\/p>\n<p>People in the 1600s would use the saying to refer to the passing of a person's soul, leaving the body for the heavenly realm. After a person died, communities would hold a 'wake' for the deceased. During the wake, people would visit with the deceased and say kind words about their impact on their life.<\/p>\n<p>The wake attendees believed the person's soul would hear the people's words at the wake. After the priests finished giving the 'Last Rites' to the deceased after the wake, the soul would leave the body for the afterlife and 'pass away.'<\/p>\n<p>The first appearance of the saying is in 'The Lay Folks Mass Book,' published sometime in the 1400s. The book presents the phrase in archaic English, reading as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"Graunt... rest &amp; pese... to cristen soules passed away.\"<\/p>\n<p>(Grant rest and peace to Christian souls who passed away.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pass away Meaning\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LelwOh9btMQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Pass Away<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Die.<\/li>\n<li>Perish.<\/li>\n<li>Kick the bucket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Pass Away<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Alive and kicking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Pass away.<\/li>\n<li>Passed away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Pass Away Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with passing people on the road in vehicles or walking. \u201cPass away\u2019 doesn\u2019t refer to the act of passing something away from you. Using the phrase for any other reason except to refer to someone dying is incorrect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Pass Away<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u2018pass away\u2019 when referring to someone dying. Typically, you\u2019ll use this euphemism when referring to someone in your family or close to you dying. The person could pass away from natural causes, disease, or accidents. It can also refer to someone being murdered.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, you\u2019ll use \u2018pass away\u2019 as a sign of respect to the person that perished and to the person you\u2019re talking to. In many cases, you\u2019ll be talking to a family member or friend, and using \u2018pass away\u2019 softens the blow of losing someone, while saying they died may seem insensitive and disrespectful to the family and the deceased.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you attending a funeral? Instead of saying the person died, you could give it a soft edge by saying they \u2018passed away.\u2019 This post unpacks the meaning and soring of this expression. Meaning The expression \u2018pass away\u2019 is a euphemism for someone dying. It\u2019s a polite way of referring to the deceased when you\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5891"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8326,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5891\/revisions\/8326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}