# Origin of 'Religion' and "Funeral'?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 7, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405 "2020-10-07T10:21:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405/1 "2020-10-07T10:21:12Z")

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All that I know, is that ‘religion’ is ultimately derived from the Latin word _religere_, meaning to tie back. And ‘funeral’ apparently ultimately derives from the Latin word for rake. _Why?_ Because that is where the dictionary etymologies stop for some reason.

I also recall reading somewhere that the ancient Romans had a reason for saying religion tied you back. But it has been so long, I have since forgotten the details. So I guess I am asking you to refresh my memory too. Funeral=rake also has an interesting origin. Again, I ask _what_ and _why_?

Thank you in advance for your kindly replies 🙂.

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405/2 "2020-10-07T10:44:33Z")

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My (old!!) Latin dictionary says Cicero derives _religio_ from _relegere,_ whereas Servius, Lactantius et al. and modern etymologists derive it from _religare_, for which Lactantius cites “religionum nodis animos exsolvere” (Lucretius).

For _funus_ it mentions _fumus_ and Sanskrit dhūmá and similar, not sure what is supposed to be raked

ETA sure, these are to a large extent folk etymologies

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**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405/3 "2020-10-07T10:45:17Z")

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The Romans had a liking for folk etymologies; they would often link their own words to roots that look superficially plausible but are not the actual origin of the word. “Religion” could be one example; you could trace it to _ligare_, which means tying or binding, with the _re-_ prefix for back; but that doesn’t necessarily mean this is where the word really comes from, it could be a coincidental similarity. [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/religion#Etymology) links it to a much more ancient Indo-European root that has the meaning of having something in mind.

As for “funeral”, that goes back to a Latin adjective derived from the Latin noun _funus_, which had the same meaning as today’s word in ancient times already. [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/funus#Latin) traces the ultimate origin to an Indo-European root meaning “to die”, which makes sense. So the similarity to another word meaning “rake” could be yet another folk etymology.

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2020, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-religion-and-funeral/922405/4 "2020-10-07T10:52:23Z")

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Eta2 Cicero’s citation is “religentem esse oportet, religiosum nefas”