In the condolence messages that I saw one word stood out. That word was vale.

We take friendships for granted. In good health, we sometimes talk about death as if it were something we needn’t worry about, at least for a long time.

How many times have you heard a relative say something along the lines of “when you go…”? Or if the relative is talking about somebody who is really sick they usually suggest something along the lines of “if anything should happen to So and So…”

Death is one of the words we hate to use, probably because it is so final. As children, we have a strong belief in our own immortality.

Even as we grow older, death seems to be something that affects “other people”. It’s only when we start losing more of our friends that we realise time catches up with all of us.

If we can find some other way of describing death we will.

Some dictionaries in my possession say that vale relates to valley. They do not mention the death of a person.

My big dictionary says vale relates to the declining years of a person’s age, but then it says vale relates to goodbye, farewell, adieu.

To valedict is to bid farewell. So does valediction.

Valedictory is something like saying farewell and giving an oration at the seme time.

Vale-dictum is to say farewell. I have yet to see a face pop up from the coffin, but I live in hope.

I know a person who wants to be buried in a coffin, with a mobile phone. But will she have reception? Can you just imagine the scene in the church…

Ivor Brown in his Book of Words described the bisyllabic word vale, from the Latin, as beautiful. John Ayto seems to describe it as an offshoot of the word meaning valley. Wilfred Funk goes a bit further. He says: “When the valedictorian has finished his speech he has said farewell.

Many years ago I wrote a column piece about death and passing away. I said: A common euphemism for dying is “passing away”. That is a way of saying dying without causing too much distress. My big dictionary has 11 pages devoted to the word pass.

Euphemisms for death range from the serious to the ridiculous. Some are: Popped off; gone to the happy hunting grounds; met one’s maker; answered the call; no longer with us; given up the ghost; met the grim reaper; bought it; cashed in one’s chips; called it a day; settled one’s account; bit the dust; croaked; went feet first; turned up one’s toes; shuffled off.