catafalque

[kat-uh-fawk, -fawlk, -falk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR catafalque ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a raised structure on which the body of a deceased person lies or is carried in state.

a hearse.

RELATED WORDS

box, casket, bier

Nearby words

Origin of catafalque

1635–45; < French < Italian catafalco < Late Latin *catafalicum scaffold, equivalent to cata- cata- + fal(a) wooden siege tower + -icum, neuter of -icus -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for catafalque

By this time Altisidora had entirely recovered from her death and was now sitting up on the catafalque.
The Story of Don Quixote|Arvid Paulson, Clayton Edwards, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
High Mass of Requiem being over, the body was removed from the catafalque and lowered into the vaults under the altar.
A History of Mourning|Richard Davey
They entered in full regalia, but did not remain in the hall, simply passing around the catafalque in double file.
The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield|Emma Elizabeth Brown
The burning of the catafalque by the Tho calls to mind a curious burial rite observed in some places in France.
Indo-China and Its Primitive People|Henry Baudesson

He lay in state in his beautiful home, on a catafalque surrounded by lighted tapers, the unfinished "Transfiguration" behind it.
Famous European Artists|Sarah K. Bolton

British Dictionary definitions for catafalque

catafalque

noun

a temporary raised platform on which a body lies in state before or during a funeral

Word Origin for catafalque

C17: from French, from Italian catafalco, of uncertain origin; compare scaffold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for catafalque

catafalque

1640s, from French catafalque (17c.), from Italian catafalco "scaffold," from Vulgar Latin *catafalicum, from Greek kata- "down" (see cata-), used in Medieval Latin with a sense of "beside, alongside" + fala "scaffolding, wooden siege tower," a word said to be of Etruscan origin. The Medieval Latin word also yielded Old French chaffaut, chafaud (Modern French échafaud) "scaffold."