​OBSEQUIES (Med. Lat. obsequiae, formed after class. Lat. exsequiae), a term for funeral rites and ceremonies, especially such as are carried out with great ceremony. The Lat. obsequium (from obsequi, to follow close after) produced the obsolete English “ obsequy,” in the sense of ready complaisant service, especially of an inferior to a superior, still found in the adjective “ obsequious.”