pyre

[pahy^uhr]

noun

1. a pile or heap of wood or other combustible material.

2. such a pile for burning a dead body, especially as part of a funeral rite, as in India.

pyre

/ paɪə /

noun

1. a heap or pile of wood or other combustible material, esp one used for cremating a corpse

Word History and Origins

Origin of pyre¹

1650–60; < Latin pyra < Greek pyrá hearth, funeral pile

Word History and Origins

Origin of pyre¹

C17: from Latin pyra, from Greek pura hearth, from pur fire

Example Sentences

Frangello writes, “I long to reach into the past and beg, ‘Don’t throw yourself on the pyre.

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Powell believed Britain was "literally mad, piling up its own funeral pyre" and that the country was bound to descend into civil war.

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Horses were often included on early Anglo-Saxon cremation pyres as a sign of status.

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He was born to pose backlit by a pyre of flaming zombies and does so here, with the hot wind tickling his locks perfectly.

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It is thought the objects may have been burnt on a funerary pyre before being buried, though no human remains were found.

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