Search

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

Then he led her carefully, slowly, down the steps of the catafalque, led her out of the hall.
Majesty Louis Couperus

The catafalque bore a notice to the effect that he had abjured heresy.
Mysteries of Police and Crime Arthur Griffiths

At last is seen the coffin, made of oak about two and a half inches thick, and placed on a catafalque.
From Paris to Pekin over Siberian Snows Victor Meignan

The whole appearance of the catafalque was tasteful and elegant.
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

With inimitable grace she knelt down on one side of the catafalque.
Louisa Of Prussia and Her Times Louise Muhlbach

Under a great bronze lamp stood the catafalque, covered with the Stars and Stripes and guarded by the men of the fleet.
The Best Short Stories of 1915 Various

I failed to quell it, as every catafalque, however brave and resolute, has failed yet.
The Black Poodle F. Anstey

For a moment I had a notion to ask a catafalque of the romantic Marquise.
The Cross of Berny Emile de Girardin

I’m not a catafalque, Chlorine, so it—it can’t interfere with me.
The Black Poodle F. Anstey

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

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.”