hearse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a vehicle used to carry a coffin to a funeral or burial place

   The hearse moved slowly toward the cemetery, followed by the mourners' cars.

From Middle English herse, through Old French herce ("harrow"), from Latin hirpex. The word first named a harrow-shaped framework holding candles over a coffin, then the funeral structure or bier, and finally the vehicle that carries the coffin.

Topics