Define hearse

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Medieval French used the word herce for a harrow, a farm tool used to break up and smooth the soil. Herce was also applied to a triangular frame that was used for holding candles. Herce was borrowed into Middle English as herse. In those days, a large and decorative framework might be raised over the tomb or coffin of an honored person. Because this framework was often decorated with candles, the word herse was applied to it. A series of slightly changed meanings led to the use of herse Modern English hearse for a platform for a corpse or coffin, and from that to a vehicle to carry the dead. The verb hearse emerged late in the 16th century.

Define hearse

A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately anonymous vehicles to heavily decorated vehicles. In the funeral trade of some countries hearses are called funeral cars or funeral coaches. The name is derived, through the French herse, from the Latin herpex , which means a 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 numerous spikes to hold burning candles, and, owing to the resemblance of these spikes to the teeth of a harrow, was called a hearse. 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 [1] from about [2] it came to denote the vehicle on which the dead are carried to the grave. Hearses were originally hand-drawn then horse-drawn after the decoration and weight of the hearse increased. The first electric motorized hearses were introduced to the United States in the early s.

Retrieved 12 May French images.

Add to word list Add to word list. You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics: Cars. Examples of hearse. The simple funeral will consist of a hearse , four bearers and one following car, and is subject to the distance not exceeding 10 miles. From the Hansard archive.

Add to word list Add to word list. You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics: Cars. Examples of hearse. The tense standoff continued at the back door of the hearse for several minutes. From ESPN. And yet, very early in your life, you had a very close relationship with not one, not two but three hearses. From NPR. After they arrived, they spotted a hearse leaving the property.

Define hearse

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Can you solve 4 words at once? A hearse was clamped outside a church—one should not laugh at that as it is a true case. Italian grammar. Quiz French confusables. Pick the best ones! I thought that they had a reference to estate cars and to hearses. Sign up now or Log in. In Hong Kong, light goods vehicles of Isuzu, Volkswagen and Ford are used as hearses by most of the privately operated funeral homes. Word Lists. Browse alphabetically hearse. English has surprises covered! Archived from the original on 23 December Hearses were originally hand-drawn then horse-drawn after the decoration and weight of the hearse increased.

A vehicle for conveying a coffin to a church or cemetery. Christianity A triangular candelabrum used at Tenebrae during Holy Week. A framelike structure over a coffin or tomb on which to hang epitaphs.

Mar 05, Word Lists. See All. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hearse. A special funeral bureau handled the funeral trains which sometimes operated 3—4 funeral trains a week over the "L". Examples of 'hearse' in a sentence hearse. Primary School. A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. Holden Caprice hearse. Cancel Submit. Herce was borrowed into English as hearse, and both the literal sense of "harrow" and the extended sense of "a frame for holding candles" were kept. Examples of hearse in a Sentence. Get the latest news and gain access to exclusive updates and offers Sign me up.