homegoing
homegoing Lexical Profile
homegoing Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American A Christian funeral service, especially in African American tradition, celebrating the deceased's departure from earthly life and spiritual return to heaven.
"The choir sang uplifting gospel hymns during the homegoing to celebrate the elder's long and faithful life."
The act of leaving a place to return to one's home.
"After months at sea, the sailors eagerly anticipated their homegoing."
• adjective
Returning or traveling toward one's home.
"The narrow country lane was crowded with homegoing commuters at the end of the workday."
Word Nuance & Usage
In African American Christian tradition, a 'homegoing' specifically denotes a celebratory funeral service that views death as a spiritual return to heaven, contrasting with the more secular or general sense of 'homecoming.'
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as a compound of 'home' and 'going' (the verbal noun and present participle of 'go'). The African American Christian funeral sense emerged in the 19th century, rooted in spirituals and folklore portraying death as a liberation and return to a heavenly or ancestral home.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.