The Origin of Words

 - originally published September 25, 2017

The purpose of this blog is every couple of weeks to provide something informative and interesting. This time, I’ve found the origin of some of the funeral words. I think they’re fascinating…

Coffin

This is from the Latin word ‘cophinus’ and the Greek ‘Kophinus’ which means ‘basket’. In older times, funeral directors used wicker baskets to transport corpses from the place of death to their mortuaries.

Undertaker

Until the 15th century, undertaker simply meant someone who undertakes a task. The first known use of the word in its present sense appeared in a New York newspaper in 1768. Since then, this has become popular, but has more recently been referred to as funeral director or mortican.

Other delightful phrases for a person who arranges and conducts funerals are: ‘thanatologist’, ‘grief therapist’, subsurface depositary engineer’, ‘celestial heating engineer’, ‘subterranean travel agent’, ‘celestial tour operator’ and ‘that unctuous man in black’.

Funeral

From the Latin ‘funeralis’ from ‘funis’ – a torch. Disposal of the dead in Roman times took place at night, hence the need for torches to light the way.

Lychgate

From the German ‘leiche’ – a corpse. Lich Gate became a place where the corpse’s bier was temporarily placed (often for a day or two, usually attended against body snatchers) before the funeral.

Cemetery

From the Greek ‘koimeterion (κοιμητήριον)’ – sleeping room.

Quarantine

The word comes from the Italian ‘quarantina’ – forties. It referred to the mourning period a widow was expected to observe. She would remove herself from everyday activities before re-appearing in society forty days later.

Autopsy

Literally meaning ‘to see with one’s own eyes’. Its first know use was in 1678.

The Wake

From Old English ‘waeccan’ – to wake. It originated as an Irish tradition of watching over the corpse to make sure it DIDN’T wake during the pre-funeral vigil where refreshments would be served.

Mausoleum

King Mausolus (about 370 BC) designed his own tomb. He gives his name to structures built over a place of burial. Probably the most famous is the Taj Mahal which was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Dead Beat

In old England, corpses were given free passage through toll gates – the dead ‘beat the toll’. Eventually it was used to described anyone who shirked their responsibilities.

Pall

From the Latin ‘pallium’ – cloak. This was an ornamental cloth placed over or above the coffin. Pallbearers would hold the pall aloft on poles in procession providing protection for the coffin bearers.

Hearse

From the Latin ‘herpex’ – harrow. The funeral hearse was originally a wooden or metal framework, which stood over the bier or coffin and supported the pall. It was provided with spikes to hold burning candles which resembled the teeth of a harrow. Later on, the word was applied, not only to the construction above the coffin, but to any receptacle in which the coffin was placed. Thus it came to denote the vehicle in which the dead are carried to the grave.

My thanks to “Funeralis” published by HT Group (PTY) Ltd of South Africa, to Wikipedia, and of course Google and the good old internet.