féretro

coffin

noun FEH-reh-troh Rare

Origin: from Greek pheretron, 'that which carries'

Usage Note

Féretro is the formal or literary word for a coffin or casket, more common in written Spanish and news reports than in everyday speech. The everyday synonym ataúd is preferred in spoken registers. Féretro often appears in phrases like llevar el féretro (to carry the coffin as a pallbearer).

Examples

"Los familiares cargaron el féretro hasta el altar."

Natural Translation

The family members carried the coffin to the altar.

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