Numerous religious traditions, such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, profess a belief in an afterlife, i.e., that death is not the end of human existence but, instead, that the soul survives the body in a different place and/or form, such as in heaven or hell, through reincarnation, or awaits resurrection. Moreover, unlike our modern body-centric interpretation of R.I.P., hoping the deceased would repose in peace after death originally referred to his or her soul, not their physical body. While the Latin word “pace” does derive from the Latin word for “peace” ( pax), the term “requiescat” does not, in fact, mean “rest.” In the original Latin, it actually referred to a “prayer offered for the repose of the dead” that literally expressed: “May he begin to rest in peace.” After all, this is the commonly perceived English translation of the original Latin phrase requiescat in pace - which just happens to consist of three words, and all in the same order as the acronym R.I.P. If asked today, most people would probably state that the acronym “R.I.P.” stands for “Rest in peace” and that it refers to the body/corpse of the deceased.

and why we use it on tombstones and gravemarkers. Here’s the meaning and origin of the acronym R.I.P. Yet, despite its familiarity, this term originally meant something far different than you might think. We commonly see “R.I.P.” these days in obituaries, on social media and during Halloween, when these three letters appear on countless decorative tombstones, toys, candies and other holiday items.

While used for centuries, the meaning of “R.I.P.” has changed over time.

R.I.P. Requiescat In Pace by Eilan Moon