Hearse
/hɜːrs/noun
A vehicle or frame used for carrying a coffin to a funeral; also, historically, a bier or funeral carriage.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin *herpex*, meaning a harrow or rake-like implement, because the earliest funeral “hearse” was a spiked or framework structure that resembled one.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut or scrape”
Latin
Latin
herpex
“a harrow, a rake-like agricultural tool”
Old French
Old French
herse
“a harrow; later, a framework for candles over a coffin”
Middle English
English
herse
“a funeral bier or frame placed over a coffin”
Modern English
English
hearse
“a vehicle used to carry a coffin to a funeral”
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