Term for "place of death"

Similar to how "birthplace" is a one-word term for "place of birth," I am looking for a one-word term for "location where someone died."

I am considering "terminus" but I'm not sure how widely-used that word is to refer to this concept.

Solution 1:

Since you are looking for a single word you can use deathplace. The term is not very common and appears to be mainly used in formal, literary contexts. Its most common alternative is place of death .

Deathplace:

the place at which a person dies:

• Lincoln is buried in Illinois, but his deathplace was Washington, D.C. - (Dictionary.com)

deathplace:

The place where a person died or is going to die.

Origin: Late 18th century; earliest use found in William Marshall (bap. 1745, d. 1818), agricultural writer and land agent. From death + place. - (Lexico.com)

Usage examples:

From: A Radical American Vision by Howard Zinn (2003)

But it is also suggested that Boston is a good choice “ because the demand for justice , and the workings of injustice , have so often found expression in this home of the antislavery movement ,this birthplace of the American Revolution , this deathplace of Sacco and Vanzetti.

From: Byron - child of Passion, Fool of Fame, by Benita Eisler (1999)

In France, Delacroix' s stirring canvas Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi ( 1824 ), while not based on a specific work by Byron, relied on the public' s knowledge of his deathplace to make the connection between the poet's sacrifice and the martyrdom of the Greek people.

Solution 2:

Croakation - location someone croaks

I know we hate neologisms here but as soon as I get enough points to post in meta trust that I will advocate daily for word equality, imagined and real

Solution 3:

The closest thing to this would, I think, be to pick a place where someone famously died and use it as a metaphor. If someone died in exile, like Napoleon, you might write of “his Elba.” One that’s a little more obscure: Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, before his assassination, “I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.” You might extend that metaphor by talking of “his Nebo,” after the mountain where Moses saw the Promised Land and died (Deuteronomy 34).

I can’t really think of a location that serves as a metaphor for every person’s place of death, so this only really works if you find a metaphor that works for that individual, and if your readers know the story well enough to get it.

More likely, though, you want to rephrase your sentence. “Died at” is shorter to put in a geneological listing than “deathplace” (which I’ve also never heard before).