posthumous
/ˈpɒs.t͡ʃʊ.məs/
posthumous means after the death of someone. It carries an Arena rating of 1639, earned across 16 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, posthumous ranks #281 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #988 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,203 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,237 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
posthumous is pronounced /ˈpɒs.t͡ʃʊ.məs/.
Why “posthumous” is a great word
Occurring, awarded, or published after the death of the person concerned. From Latin posthumus, a variant spelling of postumus ("last, last-born"), the superlative of posterus ("coming after"), with the ⟨h⟩ inserted by folk etymology due to association with humus ("ground, earth") in reference to burial; first recorded in English use 1600–10. Unlike antemortem, which clinically designates the before, or post mortem, which dissects the immediate after, posthumous is an adjective for the long echo—for honors conferred in silence, for verses published from a locked drawer, for a child born into a world its father has already left. It is the universe's habit of settling debts with someone who can no longer collect, a testament to all that arrives too late, yet insists on being heard.
Etymology
From Latin posthumus, a variant spelling of postumus, superlative form of posterus (“coming after”), the ⟨h⟩ added by association with humus (“ground, earth”) referring to burial.
adj
- After the death of someone.e.g.“The most favorable posthumous history the stay-at-home traitor can hope for is—oblivion.” — 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, “Chapter IV”, in The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, New York, United States: Charles L. Webster & Co., page 68:
- Taking place after one's own death.e.g.“Artists obscure during their life often receive posthumous recognition, too late for them to enjoy.”
- In reference to a work, published after the author's death.e.g.“His memoirs were his posthumous revenge on enemies he dared not take on alive.”
- In reference to a musical opus, published or initially performed after the composer's death.
- Born after the death of one's father.e.g.“Posthumous orphans never even knew their fathers.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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