catafalque
Americannoun
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a raised structure on which the body of a deceased person lies or is carried in state.
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a hearse.
noun
Etymology
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
Vocabulary lists containing catafalque
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Unlike at many such events, people were allowed to move at an unhurried pace, flowing in concentric circles around the casket set atop the same catafalque used in 1865 to hold Abraham Lincoln’s body.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2025
Many held their phones aloft while approaching the catafalque.
From Washington Post • Jan. 2, 2023
Mr Khan was seen by officers to step off the carpet in the direction of the catafalque, and grab hold of the Royal Standard draped over the coffin, before he was detained and arrested.
From BBC • Dec. 8, 2022
Throughout the four and a half-day vigil, guards stand around the catafalque, a raised platform upon which the coffin rests, rotating their watch every 20 minutes.
From Reuters • Sep. 15, 2022
A catafalque carrying Harrison’s black casket led the cortege and was followed immediately by Harrison’s beloved Kentucky mare, stirrups crossed on its empty saddle.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
