Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

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
     
Related topics: Death
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 from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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