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Definition of catafalque noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

catafalque

noun

/ˈkætəfælk/

/ˈkætəfælk/

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a decorated platform on which the dead body of a famous person is placed before a funeralTopics Life stagesc2
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French, from Italian catafalco, of unknown origin. Compare with scaffold.

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