hearse

[hurs]

noun

1. a vehicle for conveying a dead person to the place of burial.

2. a triangular frame for holding candles, used at the service of Tenebrae in Holy Week.

3. a canopy erected over a tomb.

hearse

/ hɜːs /

noun

1. a vehicle, such as a specially designed car or carriage, used to carry a coffin to a place of worship and ultimately to a cemetery or crematorium

Other Word Forms

• hearselike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hearse¹

1250–1300; Middle English herse < Middle French herce a harrow < Latin hirpicem, accusative of hirpex

Word History and Origins

Origin of hearse¹

C14: from Old French herce, from Latin hirpex harrow

Example Sentences

Impatient drivers must "show respect" for funeral corteges after a hearse was side-swiped, delaying someone's funeral and causing £20,000 of damage, a funeral director has said.

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The hearse had brought the coffin, draped in the royal standard, from Kensington Palace where the duchess died aged 92 earlier this month, with a piper playing as the hearse left.

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Thousands of Black Sabbath fans honored the musician’s legacy as his hearse, followed by his wife and children, made its way through Birmingham, the Associated Press reported.

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Thousands of Black Sabbath fans honored Osbourne’s life and legacy last week as his hearse, followed by his wife and children, made its way through Brimingham, the Associated Press reported.

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The funeral procession was led by a brass band playing Black Sabbath songs, with Ozzy's body transported in a hearse topped by a purple floral tribute in the shape of a cross.

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