eulogy

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noun

An expression of warm approval: acclaim, acclamation, applause, celebration, commendation, compliment, encomium, kudos, laudation, panegyric, plaudit, praise. See praise/blame.

n

Definition: praise, acclamation
Antonyms: calumny, condemnation, criticism

(hesped). Funeral oration, delivered at or after a Burial, honoring a deceased person's memory (see Funeral Service). The Hebrew verb li-spod or le-haspid ("to mourn, lament, eulogize") is used recurrently throughout the Bible in the context of bewailing the dead: Abraham's grief for Sarah (Gen. 23:2), Egypt's state mourning for the patriarch Jacob (Gen. 50:10-11), Israel's lamentation for the prophet Samuel (I Sam. 25:1), David's for Saul and Jonathan (II Sam. 1:12). In the talmudic era, special eulogies were reserved for outstanding scholars and other persons of note (TJ Ber. 2:8; MK 21b), departed rabbis being mourned in this way at each Kallah month session of the Babylonian Academies. It was presumably as a result of this custom, in later times, that Ashkenazim chose 7 Adar, the traditional anniversary of Moses' death, as the occasion for eulogizing men of distinction whose deaths had occurred in the course of the past year. Rules governing the delivery of a eulogy (hesped) were formulated in the Talmud: the virtues and pious acts of the deceased should be emphasized (though not excessively) as a last gesture of respect that will give comfort to the bereaved and encourage others to follow the departed one's example (Ber. 62a; San. 46b-47a). The initial week of Mourning (shiva) is the most appropriate time for a eulogy (MK 27b), which should be delivered--- in the first instance---either in a town square or at the cemetery prior to burial (BB 100b). According to the Shulḥan Arukh (YD 344-5), pronouncing a funeral oration is a religious duty for which the interment itself may even be delayed if the speaker has to come from another town, but no eulogy may be delivered for a suicide or a person who has been excommunicated.

Jewish law prescribes that no hesped be pronounced on Sabbaths, festivals, New Moons, the day before or after a festival, during the month of Nisan, or on days when the Taḥanun supplication is omitted from prayer services. In most traditional rites, it is delivered in the cemetery's chapel (ohel) immediately before burial, or at the actual graveside. A widely observed practice (YD 344.20) is for eminent rabbis or communal leaders to be eulogized at a synagogue, where the funeral cortege halts en route to the burial ground. In Oriental Sephardi communities, another eulogy is delivered at the conclusion of the first week of mourning; Western (Spanish and Portuguese) Sephardim, however, delay it until after the 30-day sheloshim mourning period, when the hesped is incorporated in a talmudic address. Parallel to this custom is the Ashkenazi memorial tribute (azkarah). Both Ashkenazim and Western Sephardim normally arrange for a short eulogy to be delivered at the unveiling (or "setting") of Tombstones. Eulogizing the dead became a veritable art among Jews; it gave rise to a class of specialist eulogizers and to collections of funeral orations published in book form, some notable examples having appeared in the United States after World War II. American funeral parlors often have rabbis on call to officiate at a burial; the latter make a point of meeting with the bereaved family prior to the funeral so as to glean appropriate information which can then be woven into the hesped.

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(yooh-luh-jee)

Words of praise, often for a dead person, but also a staple in introducing speakers, in nominating candidates, and on other such occasions. (Compare elegy.)

A speech or writing in praise of the character or accomplishments of a person.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.

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IN BRIEF: A formal speech praising a person who has just died.

She was asked to give a eulogy about her good friend.

Tutor's tip: The composer wrote an "elegy" (a poem or a musical composition, usually sad and mournful) to be performed right after the "eulogy" (a funeral oration) at the funeral.

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For a list of words related to eulogy, see:

• Rhetoric and Figures of Speech - eulogy: formal, extended statement of praise, esp. to honor deceased person; panegyric
• Praise, Exaltation, Flattery, and Applause - eulogy: formal commendation or high praise, esp. for deceased person
• Burial and Funerals - eulogy: praise for the deceased at funeral service

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See words rhyming with "eulogy."

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - lovtale, berømmelse, lovord, mindetale

Nederlands (Dutch)
lofrede, lofprijzing

Français (French)
n. - panégyrique, éloge

Deutsch (German)
n. - Lobrede, Grabrede

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αίνος, εγκώμιο

Italiano (Italian)
elogio funebre, panegirico, elogio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - elogio (m)

Русский (Russian)
панегирик, надгробная речь

Español (Spanish)
n. - elogio, encomio, apología

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lovtal, beröm

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
赞词, 颂德文

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 贊詞, 頌德文

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 칭찬, 찬사

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 賛辞, 称賛

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تأبين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שבחים, הלל‬

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