What Does Vale Mean In Death?

Vale relates to the declining years of a person’s age; it also relates to goodbye, farewell, adieu.

Death is one of the words we hate to use, probably because it is so final. As children, we have a strong belief in our own immortality.

Even as we grow older, death seems to be something that affects “other people”. It’s only when we start losing more of our friends that we realise time catches up with all of us.

Ivor Brown, in his Book of Words, described the bisyllabic word vale, from the Latin, as beautiful.

John Ayto seems to describe it as an offshoot of the word meaning valley. Wilfred Funk goes a bit further. He says: “When the valedictorian has finished his speech he has said farewell.

Euphemisms for death range from the serious to the ridiculous. Some are: Popped off; gone to the happy hunting grounds; met one’s maker; answered the call; no longer with us; given up the ghost; met the grim reaper; bought it; cashed in one’s chips; called it a day; settled one’s account; bit the dust; croaked; went feet first; turned up one’s toes; shuffled off.

The use of the simple word death to describe the cessation of life has been with us since as early as the year 888.