Passed

There are many euphemisms for saying that someone died, two of the most common being "passed away" and "passed on".  Lately, I've been hearing more and more people announce that so-and-so simply "passed".  The first few times that I heard it spoken that way, I thought it sounded strange.  Now, however, I'm so accustomed to this usage that it almost sounds normal, though I'm still barely to the point of being comfortable in saying it myself.

Substituting "passed" for "passed away" or "passed on" strikes me as being a euphemism for a euphemism.

 

Selected readings

• "Kim Jong Il: did he 'die' or 'pass away'?" (12/20/11)
• AIO:

Here are some words related to dying:     Synonyms: Perishing, succumbing, departing, expiring, disappearing, ending, fading, passing, deceasing, failing, dropping, kicking the bucket, biting the dust, conking out, consuming, drying up Other words: Declining, disintegrating, ebbing, fated, final, mortal, sinking, vanishing, withering Formal words: Fatality, casualty Moribund: A word that means dying or in the process of passing from life Different words can evoke different reactions in people. For example, "at peace" might sound more comforting than "He is dead". End of life workers should be aware that others may take offense at the choice of words. In a western context, some people habitually say "passed away" or "passed" and are reluctant to say "died".