posthumous

adjective

post·​hu·​mous ˈpäs-chə-məs 

 also  -tə-,

-tyə-,

-thə-;

päst-ˈhyü-məs,

ˈpōst-,

-ˈyü- 

1

: born after the death of the father

2

: published after the death of the author

3

: following or occurring after death

posthumous fame

posthumousness noun

Did you know?

The etymology of the word posthumous tells a complex story. In Latin, posterus is an adjective meaning "coming after" (from post, meaning "after"). The comparative form of posterus is posterior, and its superlative form is postumus, which means, among other things, "last." Postumus had specific application in referring to the last of a man's children, which in some cases meant those born after he had died. Latin speakers incorrectly identified the -umus in this word with humus, meaning "dirt" or "earth" (suggesting the ground in which the unfortunate father now lay). The Latin spelling became posthumus, as if the word were formed from post and humus, and both the "h" and the suggestion of "after burial" or "after death" carried over into English.

Did you know?

Where does posthumous come from?

Readers who are looking for the origins of the word posthumous may be interested to know that it is an example of a folk etymology. A folk etymology involves the respelling or changing of an unfamiliar word (often one borrowed from another language) to make it resemble an unrelated but better-known word or words. The classic example in English is cockroach, which was formed by substituting the English words cock (the name of a bird) and roach (the name of a fish) for the similar-sounding but totally unrelated Spanish word for a bug, cucaracha.
Posthumous comes from the Latin posthumus, which is itself an alteration of postumus ("born after the father's death"). It is thought that the word humus (meaning "dirt, earth" in Latin) was substituted for -umus in the mistaken belief that the word's final element had something to do with the soil in a grave.

Synonyms

• postmortem

Examples of posthumous in a Sentence

She received a posthumous award for her life of philanthropy.

the soldier was awarded a posthumous medal for valor

Recent Examples on the Web

Clocking in at five minutes and two seconds, the moment earned her an Academy Award alongside co-stars Faye Dunaway, who took home the Best Actress statuette, and Peter Finch, who became the first actor honored with a posthumous Oscar. —Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025

Originally intended as a second duets album by the pair, the project only features the posthumous vocals of Hathaway, who had died a year earlier. —Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 27 Feb. 2025

Roberta Flack, soulful R&B vocalist known for 'Killing Me Softly With His Song,' dies at 88 Ana Martinez from the Hollywood Walk of Fame told TMZ the organization is hopeful that Flack's family will reach out to lock in a date for the posthumous ceremony. —Jessica Wang, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2025

As At Last! earns another stay at No. 1, The Essential Etta James debuts at No. 5, earning the singer another posthumous top 10 win. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin posthumus, alteration of postumus late-born, posthumous, from superlative of posterus coming after — more at posterior

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids Definition

posthumous

adjective

post·​hu·​mous ˈpäs-chə-məs 

1

: born after the death of the father

a posthumous son

2

: published after the death of the author

3

: following or occurring after one's death

posthumous fame

a posthumous award

posthumously adverb

Medical Definition

posthumous

adjective

post·​hu·​mous

ˈpäs-chə-məs also -t(y)ə-

1

: born after the death of the father

2

: following or occurring after death

posthumously adverb