requiem

Where does the word "requiem" come from? It comes from Latin quies, passing through Latin before entering English (1300s).

Requiem’s story begins in Latin: quies meant “rest, repose.” Rest, repose, combined with re- (again, fully). Within Latin, it grew into requies by ancient. Rest, repose, from re- and quies. By ancient, Latin speakers had reshaped it into requiem. Rest (accusative form), the opening word of the Latin Mass for the dead: grant them eternal rest. It reached English by 1300s as requiem. Adopted for the Mass for the repose of the soul of the dead; the broader sense of any dirge or musical composition honoring the dead developed later, from the 1610s. Today, requiem means a musical composition or Mass honoring and giving rest to the dead.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient quies "rest, repose", rest, repose, combined with re- (again, fully).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient requies "rest, repose", rest, repose, from re- and quies.
3. Stage 3 · Latin · ancient requiem "rest, the opening word of the Mass for the dead", rest (accusative form), the opening word of the Latin Mass for the dead: grant them eternal rest.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1300s requiem "a Mass for the repose of the soul of the dead", adopted for the Mass for the repose of the soul of the dead; the broader sense of any dirge or musical composition honoring the dead developed later, from the 1610s.