Burial
/ˈbɛriəl/noun
The act or practice of placing a dead body in the ground or in a tomb.
Did you know?The word comes from Old English *byrġels*, meaning a tomb or burial place, from the same Germanic root behind *bury*, so the English language literally built death into a place-name for the dead.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*burgz / *burgis
“A fortified place, mound, or enclosed settlement”
Old English
OE
byrġels
“A tomb, grave, or burial place”
Middle English
ME
buriel / burials
“Interment; a burial or funeral rite”
14th Century
English
burial
“The act of burying a dead body”
Modern English
English
burial
“The act or practice of interring the dead”
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