obituarianadj.n.
/əˌbɪtʃʊˈɛːrɪən/, /əˌbɪtjʊˈɛːrɪən/, U.S. /əˌbɪtʃəˈwɛriən/, /oʊˌbɪtʃəˈwɛriən/ Chiefly U.S.
A. adj.
Engaged in writing an obituary. rare.
ΚΠ
1904 Science 9 Sept. 332/2 ‘For many years’, according to his obituarian biographer, ‘it was the standard work on our fishes.’
B. n.
= obituarist n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journalist > [noun] > writer of obituaries
death-hunter1723
obituarist1792
necrographer1861
obituarian1909
the world > life > death > obsequies > obituary > [noun] > writer of
obituarist1792
necrologist1803
necrographer1861
obituarian1909
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. 882/3 There is one characteristic story to be told about Robert Louis Stevenson which his obituarians have missed, probably because they knew nothing about it.
1971 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 6 Nov. 44/3 Alden Whitman is the obituarian for The New York Times.
2001 Village Voice (N.Y.) (Nexis) 18 Sept. 132 Pauline Kael has now paid her debt to nature, providing the obituarians with the opportunity to finally top off their 35-year outpouring of ardor and awe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1904