Skip to content

cercueil

coffin

noun sehr-KUY Less Common
People & Society Religion

Origin: Old French 'sarcueil', from Latin 'sarcophagus'

Usage Note

Cercueil is the standard word for a burial coffin; the -ueil ending sounds like œil (eye), giving 'sehr-KUY'. A related term is bière, an older literary word for a coffin. The plural is regular: cercueils.

Examples

"Ils ont porté le cercueil jusqu'à l'église."

Natural Translation

They carried the coffin to the church.

Explore French by topic