Death

Old English dēath — dying, death. Proto-Germanic root related to Old Norse dauði, Gothic dauþus. Among the oldest words in the language — death needed naming before almost anything else.

Handled differently across every culture and era. Medicalized in the modern West — moved from home to hospital, from family to professional management. 'Death with dignity,' 'death tax,' 'death panels' — politically loaded in ways that obscure the biological fact.