hearse

[ hurs ]

noun

1. a vehicle for conveying a dead person to the place of burial.
2. a triangular frame for holding candles, used at the service of Tenebrae in Holy Week.
3. a canopy erected over a tomb.

hearse

/ hɜːs /

noun

1. a vehicle, such as a specially designed car or carriage, used to carry a coffin to a place of worship and ultimately to a cemetery or crematorium

Other Words From

• hearselike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hearse¹

1250–1300; Middle English herse < Middle French herce a harrow < Latin hirpicem, accusative of hirpex

Word History and Origins

Origin of hearse¹

C14: from Old French herce, from Latin hirpex harrow

Example Sentences

The “Strip That Down” singer’s dark blue casket arrived at the church in a white horse-drawn hearse carrying floral arrangements spelling the words “son” and “daddy,” the BBC said.

From Los Angeles Times

A hearse will travel through Edinburgh on 29 November in tribute to her “beloved festival home” before returning to Glasgow on 30 November for the ceremony.

From BBC

As his coffin was loaded onto the hearse, the mourners fell silent, except for the soft murmur of weeping and prayer.

From BBC

The home became a worldwide focal point on the day of Ali’s burial, when hundreds of people lined the street in front of the house as his hearse and funeral procession slowly passed by.

From Seattle Times

Just months later, in February, a woman’s body was found in the back of hearse, left there for over a year by a suburban Denver funeral home.

From Seattle Times