hearse

play

noun \ ˈhərs \

Updated on: 15 Aug 2017

Definition of hearse

1 a :an elaborate framework erected over a coffin or tomb to which memorial verses or epitaphs are attached

b :a triangular candelabra for 15 candles used especially at Tenebrae

2 a archaic :coffin

b obsolete :bier 2

3 :a vehicle for conveying the dead to the grave

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Recent Examples of hearse from the Web

Petty then left the boy's body in his car – a hearse – for a day, police said.

— alex thomas, ajc, "Dad pleads guilty to punching 2-month-old son to death," 3 Aug. 2017
When his hearse drove through Memphis for the funeral the day after that, many more thousands—half a million, some guessed—stood on the streets.

— kostya kennedy, Time, "He’ll Always Be Elvis: Remembering the 'King' 40 Years On," 22 July 2017
The hearse broke down in North Dakota, and the boys camped out in a town park in Minot for five days while it was repaired.

— craig r. mccoy / staff writer, Philly.com, "Horror on the mountain," 12 July 2017
At 2 a.m. on Aug. 10, a hearse carrying the hollowed, 50-pound body of Alice Dumas left Beloit, bound for the pathology department at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

— mark johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "In tracking a lethal family of diseases that threatens humans and animals, scientists have become the hunters," 6 July 2017
Thousands of mourners crowded the narrow New York City streets to see the 73-year-old’s hearse make its way to the family vault in Marble Cemetery.

— melissa etehad, latimes.com, "Dead on the Fourth of July. When three presidents died on the holiday, Americans saw the work of God," 4 July 2017
Lamar Ragland was driving the first car behind the hearse in his uncle's funeral procession last August when a white SUV pulled up to Ragland's bright gold, customized Chevy.

— michelle liu, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee man sentenced to life in prison for funeral shooting," 23 June 2017
A bagpiper played as the casket was carried to a hearse.

— CBS News, "Funeral for Otto Warmbier held in Ohio," 22 June 2017
Following the service, a police officer played the bagpipes as the casket was taken to a hearse.

— erin hill, PEOPLE.com, "Thousands of Mourners Gather for North Korea Detainee Otto Warmbier’s Funeral at His Ohio High School," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hearse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Evolution of hearse

Medieval French used the word herce for a harrow, a farm tool used to break up and smooth the soil. Herce was also applied to a triangular frame that was used for holding candles. Herce was borrowed into Middle English as herse. In those days, a large and decorative framework might be raised over the tomb or coffin of an honored person. Because this framework was often decorated with candles, the word herse was applied to it. A series of slightly changed meanings led to the use of herse (Modern English hearse) for a platform for a corpse or coffin, and from that to a vehicle to carry the dead. The verb hearse emerged late in the 16th century.