pallbearer
Other forms: pallbearers
The sad job of a pallbearer is to help carry the casket at a funeral service or burial. In Western cultures, pallbearers are usually family members or close friends of the person who has died.
Traditionally, pallbearers were men, all of whom wore white gloves as a sign of respect for the deceased person. These days, anyone can be a pallbearer. In some Eastern traditions, pallbearers are never members of the family, but instead are paid helpers. The word pallbearer comes from pall, "cloth spread over a coffin," and bearer, or "carrier."
-
one of the mourners carrying the coffin at a funeral
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing pallbearer
Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, this Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows former baseball player Troy Maxson as he tries to find his place in the world and navigate troubled relationships with his wife and son.
Simon Kelleher publishes gossip about his classmates online. When he unexpectedly dies during detention, the four students who were in the room with him become prime suspects in his murder.
Teenagers Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters form an intense bond when they meet in a cancer support group in Indiana.