Context #1:
I was married to my husband for 37 years. I miss him so much. He passed away 5 years ago. When it rains, I miss him even more...My late husband used to enjoy his garden, especially after it rained. He was a good man.
Context #2:
November has been a very sad month in America. Many bad things happened, but for me, the saddest thing was to find out that one of my favorite singer/song writers passed away. He died on November 10th. The late Leonard Cohen was great and wrote many of my favorite songs.
Meaning: dead. We use "the late" before a name or title to indicate that person is not alive. If the person is loved and respected, we often use "the late great" before the name or title.
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