Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died.
  • noun High praise or commendation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun High commendation of a person or thing, especially when expressed in a formal manner or to an undue degree; specifically, a speech or writing delivered or composed for the express purpose of lauding its subject.
  • noun Same as eulogia.
  • noun Synonyms Encomium, Eulogy, Eulogium, Panegyric. These words are best understood through their history. (See the derivations.) Eulogy is stronger than encomium, but still is the most general word. An encomium is an expression of warm praise, of some fullness and completeness, like the ancient laudatory ode: encomium is not a distinctive name for a set speech; the others may be: as, Everett's Eulogy upon the Pilgrim Fathers; the Panegyric of Isocrates. Eulogium is only a more formal word for eulogy. The last three may be used abstractly, but not encomium; we may say, it was mere eulogy or panegyric, but not mere encomium. Eulogy, a eulogy, and an encomium may be tempered with criticism; panegyric and a panegyric are only praise; hence, panegyric is often used for exaggerated or undiscriminating praise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A speech or writing in commendation of the character or services of a person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An oration to honor a deceased person, usually at a funeral.
  • noun Speaking highly of someone; the act of praising or commending someone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a formal expression of praise for someone who has died recently
  • noun a formal expression of praise

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English euloge, from Medieval Latin eulogium, from Greek eulogiā, praise : eu-, eu- + logos, speech; see –logy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Ancient Greek εὐλογία (eulogia, "praise").

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Examples

  • Even today, diocesan regulations are as clear as they are widely ignored, e.g. this from Chicago: "A eulogy is never appropriate where a homily is prescribed (Order of Christian Funerals), but examples from the person's life may be used in the homily."

    Bring Back Dies Irae 2009

  • I did not attend the funeral, but thanks to all that digitization, the eulogy is on the Internet for everyone to read.

    Story pick: Remembering Carla Cohen Michael S. Rosenwald 2010

  • When my mother died, I gave a maudlin eulogy about all the days we spent together when I was small, shopping at Hink's department store and eating peeled apricots and lying down for naps in the big bed under the gable window of her bedroom.

    How Serfdom Saved the Women’s Movement 2004

  • When my mother died, I gave a maudlin eulogy about all the days we spent together when I was small, shopping at Hink's department store and eating peeled apricots and lying down for naps in the big bed under the gable window of her bedroom.

    How Serfdom Saved the Women’s Movement 2004

  • The word eulogy is rooted in scripture, most often translated as some form of "bless," it literally means "to speak well of."

    Latest Articles 2009

  • It cited a Los Angeles Times story that provided some further details: “The eulogy is being prepared by Bush’s chief speechwriter, Michael Gerson, who also wrote the president’s moving speech for a memorial service in the same cathedral after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”

    Present at the Creation 2007

  • I understand a eulogy is not the best place for the truth, but an editorial is, and so I’m disappointed that the Journal’s ignores the truth: Lady Bird lost, as did we all.

    mjh's blog — 2007 — July 2007

  • It cited a Los Angeles Times story that provided some further details: “The eulogy is being prepared by Bush’s chief speechwriter, Michael Gerson, who also wrote the president’s moving speech for a memorial service in the same cathedral after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”

    Present at the Creation 2007

  • A funeral is a solemn rite of passage, and since the days of ancient civilization, the eulogy has been a speech of good words for the dead.

    The Last Laugh Katherine Rosman 2011

  • The last speech he gave, the so-called eulogy of bin Laden, he tried to imitate bin Laden by reciting poetry.

    Analysts Question al-Zawahri's Skills to be al-Qaida's New Leader 2011

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