deathday

English

From Middle English deth-day, deth day, dethe-day, deþ day, from Old English dēaþdæġ (“day of one's death, deathday”), equivalent to death +‎ day. Compare birthday. Compare also German Low German Doodsdag (“deathday”), German Todestag (“deathday”), Danish dødsdag (“deathday”), Swedish dödsdag (“deathday”).

deathday (plural deathdays)

The day of a person's death, especially when viewed as being appointed by fate.
- 1936, J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, Norwood, Pa.: Norwood Editions, published 1976, page 32:
  The placing of the dragon is inevitable: a man can but die upon his death-day.
The anniversary of a death, the date upon which someone died in a bygone year.
Hyponyms: angel date, angel day
- 1996, Patrick O'Leary, Door Number Three, →ISBN, page 362:
  "Is it her deathday?" I asked. "Nope," he said.
- 1998 July 2, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “The Deathday Party”, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter; 2), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:
  ‘Well, this Hallowe’en will be my five hundredth deathday,’ said Nearly Headless Nick, drawing himself up and looking dignified.
- 2009, Duchess Dale, How May I Love You Today?, →ISBN, page 199:
  It only just dawned on me that intrinsically it felt better to honor her on her birthday rather than her deathday. It has always struck me as odd that more people remember the day Elvis or John Lennon died than the dates they were born.
- 2011, Sholem Aleichem, Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories:
  […] just then we needed a tenth man and needed him badly, because one of us had a deathday to observe and wanted to say the mourner's prayer.

yearday; twelvemonth's mind, year's mind (personal commemoration); saint's day (Christian observance)

anniversary of a death