Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: DEATH

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Italian
Origin: catafalco, from Vulgar Latin catafalicum 'stage, platform, scaffold', from Greek kata- ( CATACLYSM) + Latin fala 'movable wooden structure for attacking towns'

catafalque

 noun
     
cat‧a‧falque [countable] formal
MX a decorated raised structure on which the dead body of an important person is placed before their funeral
Definition of catafalque from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic DEATH
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The DEATH
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epitaph

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