Meaning: die

Illustrative Context

Everyone dies sooner or later.

Target Sense

• The most generic verb for the death of people, non-specific as to cause.
• The lexeme selected must be applicable to humans, although in many languages will also serve for animals and plants.
• Avoid terms specifically for dying ‘of old age’, or specific to any other cause.
• The most neutral register, literal term. Avoid lexemes that are emotionally charged (e.g. perish), euphemistic or polite (e.g. pass (away)), literary (e.g. expire) or slang (e.g. kick the bucket).
• The basic term in a language may of course have originated in some such register, but since lost those connotations and become simply the normal default term for ‘die’. If so, then it is indeed now the lexeme in the IE-CoR target sense, and should be selected.
• Avoid terms with specific connotations of violent death.
• See also the target specifications for the separate IE-CoR meanings kill and live.