Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Burial?

\Bur"i*al\, n. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.] 1. A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [Obs.] The erthe schook, and stoones weren cloven, and biriels weren opened. --Wycliff [Matt. xxvii. 51, 52]. 2. The act of burying; depositing a dead body in the earth, in a tomb or vault, or in the water, usually with attendant ceremonies; sepulture; interment. ``To give a public burial.'' --Shak. Now to glorious burial slowly borne. --Tennyson. {Burial case}, a form of coffin, usually of iron, made to close air-tight, for the preservation of a dead body. {Burial ground}, a piece of ground selected and set apart for a place of burials, and consecrated to such use by religious ceremonies. {Burial place}, any place where burials are made. {Burial service}. (a) The religious service performed at the interment of the dead; a funeral service. (b) That portion of a liturgy which is read at an interment; as, the English burial service. Syn: Sepulture; interment; inhumation.