funeral

1437, from M.Fr. funérailles (pl.) "funeral rites," from M.L. funeralia "funeral rites," originally neut. pl. of L.L. funeralis "having to do with a funeral," from L. funus (gen. funeris) "funeral, death, corpse," origin unknown, perhaps ult. from PIE base *dheu- "to die." Singular and plural used interchangeably in Eng. until c.1700. The adj. funereal is first attested 1725, by influence of M.Fr. funerail, from L. funereus, from funus.

thanatology: 1842, "scientific study of death," from Gk. thanatos "death" (from PIE *dhwene- "to disappear, die," perhaps from root meaning "dark, cloudy") + -logia "treating of." Thanatism (1900) is the belief that at death the soul ceases to exist. Hence also Thanatos (1935), the "death instinct" in Freudian psychology. In 1970s, some undertakers made a bid to be called thanatologists.