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coffin

 - 6 dictionary results

cof⋅fin

[kaw-fin, kof-in]
–noun
1. the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.
2. the part of a horse's foot containing the coffin bone.
3. Printing.
a. the bed of a platen press.
b. the wooden frame around the bed of an early wooden press.
–verb (used with object)
4. to put or enclose in or as in a coffin.

Origin:
1300–50; ME cofin < ONF < L cophinus < Gk kóphinos a kind of basket


cof⋅fin⋅less, adjective

Cof⋅fin

[kaw-fin, kof-in]
–noun
1. Levi, 1798–1877, U.S. abolitionist leader.
2. Robert P(eter) Tristram, 1892–1955, U.S. poet, essayist, and biographer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To coffin
cof·fin   (kô'fĭn, kŏf'ĭn)   
n.  
  1. An oblong box in which a corpse is buried.

  2. The horny part of a horse's hoof.

tr.v.   cof·fined, cof·fin·ing, cof·fins
To place in or as if in a coffin.

[Middle English cofin, basket, from Old French, from Latin cophinus, from Greek kophinos.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

coffin 
c.1330, from O.Fr. cofin "sarcophagus," earlier "basket, coffer," from L. cophinus "basket," from Gk. kophinos "a basket," of uncertain origin. Funeral sense in Eng. is 1525; before that it was literal and had also a meaning of "pie crust." Coffin nail "cigarette" is slang from 1880.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Coffin

used in Gen. 50:26 with reference to the burial of Joseph. Here, it means a mummy-chest. The same Hebrew word is rendered "chest" in 2 Kings 12:9, 10.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia

coffin

the receptacle in which a corpse is confined. The Greeks and Romans disposed of their dead both by burial and by cremation. Greek coffins were urn-shaped, hexagonal, or triangular, with the body arranged in a sitting posture. The material used was generally burnt clay and in some cases had obviously been molded around the body and baked. In the Christian era stone coffins came into use. Romans who were rich enough had their coffins made of a limestone brought from Assus, in Asia Minor, which was commonly believed to "eat" the body

Learn more about coffin with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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