now-deceased

The compound adjective 'now-deceased' is a transparent and relatively modern formation in English, combining the native Germanic adverb 'now' with the Latinate adjective 'deceased'. The word 'now' derives from the Proto-Germanic nu, a common Indo-European temporal adverb. 'Deceased' entered English through French, tracing back to the Latin verb 'dēcēdere', meaning 'to go away, depart', a euphemism for death composed of 'dē-' (away) and 'cēdere' (to go). The compound's logic is straightforward: it specifies that the state of being deceased is a recent event, effectively meaning 'recently dead' or 'dead as of the present time', serving a precise function in legal, formal, and journalistic contexts to denote temporal proximity to death.

Structure: now (current) + deceased (dead) - now: From Old English 'nū', meaning 'at the present time'. It functions as an adverb specifying the time of the state described. - deceased: From Latin 'dēcessus', the past participle of 'dēcēdere' (to depart, die), via Old French 'deces'. It functions as an adjective meaning 'dead'.