posthumous
POSS-chuh-muss
/ˈpɒstjʊməs/
Occurring, awarded, or published after a person's death.
Used for honors, fame, publications, or children born after the death of the father.
The story behind the word. berasal from Latin 'postumus' (the latest-born or last child), the superlative of 'post' (after). Late Latin scribes mistakenly altered the spelling to 'posthumous' because they wrongly believed it was connected to 'humus' (earth or burial in ground).
Word relationships
- post-mortem: Post-mortem is usually medical or analytical (e.g., examination of a body or project).
- lifetime: Occurring during a person's living existence.
Commonly confused with
- post-mortem: Post-mortem means after death in a clinical or analytical sense; posthumous refers to achievements or events honoring the dead.
Word family
- posthumously (adverb): In a manner occurring after death.
Collocations
- posthumous award
- posthumous fame
- posthumous publication
- posthumous pardon
Example sentences
- "The brave firefighter received a posthumous award for bravery." Award recognition
- "Franz Kafka achieved most of his international fame through posthumous publications of his novels." Literary publishing
Memory hook
POST (after) + HUMUS (ground). Arriving after someone has been laid in the ground. Honors earned when life is done.
When not to use
Do not use to describe things that occurred while the person was still alive.
Fun facts
- Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime; his colossal global fame is entirely posthumous.
Related words
Explore more words
postoperative, forthcoming, posterity, contemporary, subsequent, postscript
Also appears in
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