bier
[ beer ]
/ bɪər /
noun
a frame or stand on which a corpse or the coffin containing it is laid before burial.
such a stand together with the corpse or coffin.
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Origin of bier
Can be confusedbeer bier
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
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British Dictionary definitions for bier
bier
/ (bɪə) /
noun
a platform or stand on which a corpse or a coffin containing a corpse rests before burial
Word Origin for bier
Old English bǣr; related to beran to bear 1, Old High German bāra bier, Sanskrit bhārá a burden
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for bier
bier
Old English bær (West Saxon), ber (Anglian) "handbarrow, litter, bed," from West Germanic *bero (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German bara, Old Frisian bere, Middle Dutch bare, Dutch baar, German Bahre "bier"), from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry; to bear children," and thus related to the Old English verb beran "to bear" (see bear (v.)), making a bier etymologically anything used for carrying, only later limited to funerary sense. Since c.1600, spelling influenced by French bière, from Old French biere, from Frankish *bera, from the same Germanic root.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper