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bier

 
(bîr) pronunciation
n.
  1. A stand on which a corpse or a coffin containing a corpse is placed before burial.
  2. A coffin along with its stand: followed the bier to the cemetery.

[Alteration (influenced by French bière, coffin) of Middle English ber, from Old English bēr.]


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A movable wooden platform on which corpses are laid, sometimes together with grave goods, and eventually carried to a burial place.

Word Tutor:

bier

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A stand that holds a corpse or coffin.

pronunciation There was a new made grave, and by its side the bier was rested. . . — Walt Whitman

Tutor's tip: You wouldn't want to confuse a "beer" (alcoholic drink) with a "bier" (coffin and its stand).

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to bier, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Bier.

A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin or casket containing a corpse, is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.[1]

In Christian burial, the bier is often placed in the centre of the nave with candles surrounding it, and remains in place during the funeral.

A wheeled bier from Grendon church, Northamptonshire.

The bier is a flat frame, traditionally wooden but sometimes of other materials. In antiquity it was often a wooden board on which the dead were placed, covered with a shroud. In modern times, the corpse is rarely carried on the bier without being first placed in a coffin or casket, though the coffin or casket is sometimes kept open.

A bier is often draped with cloth to lend dignity to the funeral service. The modern funeral industry uses a collapsible aluminium bier on wheels, known as a "church truck" to move the coffin to and from the church or funeral home for services.

Biers are generally smaller than the coffin or casket they support for reasons of appearance. As a result, they are not particularly stable, and can tip over unless well centred and undisturbed.

The Carmelite Priory, Mdina, Malta has a colourful bier on display that was used to carry the monks or friars before they were buried without a coffin.

See also

References

  1. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1973), s.v., "bier"

Translations:

Bier

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - båre

Nederlands (Dutch)
lijkbaar

Français (French)
n. - civière, brancard (de cercueil), bière (d'un cadavre)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Totenbahre

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάθρο φέρετρου, νεκροκρέβατο

Italiano (Italian)
bara

idioms:

  • place on the bier    mettere nella bara

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ataúde (m), carreta (f) fúnebre

idioms:

  • place on the bier    uma vaga na alça do caixão

Русский (Russian)
катафалк

idioms:

  • place on the bier    положить тело на похоронный стенд

Español (Spanish)
n. - féretro, andas funerarias

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - likbår, likvagn, grav

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
棺架, 棺材, 尸架

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 棺架, 棺材, 屍架

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 관대, 무덤

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 棺台, 棺と棺架

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نعش‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ארון-מתים, מיטת מת‬


 
 
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Biere (family name)
lych-stone
nobby

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Copyrights:

American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
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