What does committal mean?
'Committal' denotes the act of formally committing a person or thing to somewhere — most often heard today in two settings: funerals and courts. At a funeral, the committal is the solemn point of the service at which the body is buried, interred, or entrusted to the flames, marked in many traditions by the words 'we commit this body to the ground'. In legal usage, it refers to a court's act of sending someone to prison, detention, or another form of custody. The word carries a formal, institutional tone and appears chiefly in liturgical, legal, and administrative language rather than casual conversation. Derived from the Latin root behind 'commit', it shares family ties with 'commission' and 'committee'. Because it overlaps in sound with 'commitment' — which means a pledge or dedication — the two are sometimes confused, but they are distinct: commitment binds the will, while committal consigns a body, a person, or an object to a definite place or fate.
nounThe act of committing someone or something to a particular place, custody, or course of action; in law, especially the sending of a person to prison, a psychiatric institution, or the burial or disposal of a body at a funeral service.
- A funeral rite: the part of a service at which a body is buried, interred, or otherwise committed (e.g., 'a committal at the graveside').
- Legal confinement: the act of committing a person to prison, detention, or a psychiatric institution by order of a court.
"After the cremation, the family gathered for a quiet committal at the graveside."
"The vicar led the mourners in the prayers of committal as the coffin was lowered into the grave."
"The magistrate ordered the defendant's committal to prison pending trial."
The plural is straightforward and regular; it typically appears when referring to multiple such acts, such as several burials or several court orders of committal recorded over time.
"The parish register recorded three committals that winter."
In British English, 'committal' is the solemn word for the moment a body is given to the earth or fire — yet it can equally mean being sent to prison.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of committal
'Committal' derives from 'commit', which entered English from Latin 'committere', meaning 'to entrust, consign, or bring together', formed from 'com-' (together) plus 'mittere' (to send). The noun form arose in English legal and ecclesiastical usage to name the act itself rather than the verb describing it. Its closest relatives — commission, committee, commissary, and transmit — all descend from the same Latin root built on 'mittere', 'to send'.
Related word forms
How committal is actually used
'Committal' is largely formal and institutional. In everyday speech people more often say 'burial', 'interment', or 'funeral'; 'committal' is the term used in liturgical and legal registers. It is far more common in British English than American English, where 'graveside service' and 'commitment proceedings' tend to be preferred. In legal contexts, note that committing a person is the act; the resulting document or process may be called a 'committal'.
Easily confused with committal
Commitment refers to a pledge or dedication to a cause, task, or person, whereas committal refers to the physical or legal act of committing someone or something to a place, custody, or the ground.