Glossary
Following is a partial list of terms used in conjunction with death and the memorialization of a deceased human being. If you wonder about a term that is not listed, or take issue with the definition provided, please let us know.
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Alternative container:
An unfinished wood box or other non-metal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, which is designed for the encasement of human remains. It may be made of fiberboard, pressed wood, composition materials (with or without an outside covering) or like materials.
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Arrangement Conference:
A scheduled event at which the mortician or funeral director meets with interested parties to plan the disposition and related memorialization events, for a deceased person.
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Ashes:
A term incorrectly used to refer to cremains.
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Aspergelum:
The devise which holds and is used to sprinkle Holy Water, by a Catholic or Orthodox priest.
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Casket:
An enclosure used to contain the body of the deceased throughout the memorialization. Although they can be made or many materials, most are made or wood, semi precious metals or steel. The amount of ornamentation varies widely.
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Casket bearers:
In American culture, these are usually persons emotionally close to the family or deceased, who are selected to carry the casket as needed, usually to and from the funeral coach or other similar conveyance. Also see under bearers and pall bearers.
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Catacombs:
The subterranean area of final disposition of (usually) large numbers of individuals. Some Churches have catacombs in which their members are placed in death. Sometimes called crypts or ossuary.
Celebrant:
In the Catholic Church, the priest that performs the mass.
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Certified Copies of a Death Certificate:
Copies of the original death certificate as prepared and certified by the appropriate agency used for legal purposes and processing of survivor benefits.
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Coffin:
A much mis-used word that refers to the octagonal shaped caskets still used in some parts of the world.
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Columbarium:
A structure consisting of small vaults or niches for urns containing cremated remains.
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Committal Service:
The ceremony at the gravesite following a funeral ceremony or gathering in a church, chapel or other location.
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Concelbrants:
In the Catholic Church, the priests that performs the mass, when there are more than one.
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Cremains:
That which remains following cremation and processing.
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Cremation authorization:
The legal document signed by the deceased or their next of kin, as well as appropriate legal authorities permitting the cremation to proceed.
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Cremated remains:
That which remains following cremation and processing. Most correctly called cremains.
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Cremation:
The process by which a dead human body is reduced, by intense heat and evaporation, to its non-combustible elements.
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Cremation casket:
A special casket designed to be used when the final disposition of the remains is cremation. The casket may be used for visitation and/or the funeral ceremony, and it is cremated with the decedent. The distinction is that it is almost entirely combustable.
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Crematory:
A building or facility that houses the equipment necessary for cremation.
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Crypt:
A space within a mausoleum designed for the permanent resting place of a casketed human remains. More properly called catacombs.
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DD-214:
The document specifying a veteran’s enlistment record and discharge from the U.S. Army. Other branches of the U.S. Military may designate this form by other names.
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Death certificate:
The legal document, filed with the appropriate agency documenting a human death.
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Disinterment:
The legal process whereby a human remains may be removed from one place of final disposition in favor of another location.
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Disposition:
The process of placing a deceased in their final resting place.
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Disposition permit:
The form required for the legal disposition of a dead human body.
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Entombment:
The interment of human remains in an above-ground crypt or mausoleum.
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Funeral:
A ceremony in a church, chapel or other location with the entire body of the deceased present.
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Funeral Coach:
A motorized conveyance specifically designed for the transportation of a casketed dead human body. Sometimes incorrectly called a hearse.
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Funeral Director:
A person licensed by a state to prepare dead human bodies for disposition and arrange for, co-ordinate and supervise memorialization events. In some jurisdictions, this designation may not permit the preparation of the body.
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Gathering:
A scheduled informal memorialization event, without the visible body present, designed for the honoring and remembering of the deceased. Similar informal events with the cremated remains present are also considered Gatherings.
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Grief:
The internal reaction to loss, how an individual responds to a death.
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Hearse:
A horse powered conveyance specifically designed for the transportation of a casketed dead human body.
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Honorary bearers:
Persons who are designated for their close relationship to the family or deceased. Sometimes they are persons who, because of health or inability to attend, were not selected as casket bearers.
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Innichement:
The placement of cremains into a niche within a columbarium.
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Interment:
The placing of the deceased into the earth as a final resting place whether it be the entire individual their cremains.
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Intombment:
The placement of a deceased person into a tomb. May also used to refer to the placement of a deceased into a sepulchral.
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Inurnment:
The placing of cremains into an urn, although the term is frequently mis-used to refer to the interment of cremains or innichement.
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Keep sake:
Defined as an object to remind of a person or event, they may include a prayer card or jewelry containing the cremated remains of a deceased. The spectrum of these items too are limited only by the imagination of the creator. Also called a memento.
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Lawn Crypt:
A subsurface concrete structure constructed in multiple units for the interment of human remains. Lawn crypts may be constructed with more than one tier or level.
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Mass:
A religious service. Most commonly referring to a Catholic service (usually performed in a catholic church) which includes the celebrating of the sacrament of the Eucharist, prayers and other blessings for the disposition the dead. The term mass is also to refer to services by other groups.
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Mausoleum:
A public or private building containing sepulchral which hold dead human bodies.
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Memento:
Defined as an object to remind of a person or event, they may include a prayer card or jewelry containing the cremated remains of a deceased. The spectrum of these items too are limited only by the imagination of the creator. Also called a keep sake.
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Memorial:
A monitary contribution made in memory of the deceased.
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Memorial:
Any item, other than a mausoleum or columbarium, used for identifying an interment space or for commemoration of the life of a decedent, including, but not limited to, a monument, marker, niche plate, urn garden plaque, crypt plate, cenotaph, marker bench and vase.
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Memorialization event:
Any scheduled event for the purpose of the disposition or honoring of the deceased.
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Memorial service:
A ceremony in a church, chapel or other location with cremains present or without the deceased present.
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Memorial folder:
A printed keepsake that contains the name of the deceased that may also contain: poetry, scripture or other inspirational material, information regarding the service and the complete or edited version of the obituary.
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Memorial Mass:
A religious service, held in a Catholic Church, that includes: the sacrament of the Eucharist, prayers and other blessings for the disposition the dead, with cremains or no physical body present.
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Memory Board:
A collage of pictures assembled for display at a memorialization event.
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Mortician:
A person licensed by a state to prepare dead human bodies for disposition and arrange for, co-ordinate and supervise memorialization events.
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Mourning:
Grief gone public, the shared response to a loss.
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Mummification:
The ceremonial process, most commonly associated with the ancient Egyptians, for preparing a deceased for final disposition.
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Niche:
A compartment or cubicle for the memorialization and permanent placement of cremated remains. The building in which a niche is contained is a columbarium. It also refers to an individual resting place within an Ossuary when the skeletal remains are not co-mingled.
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Officiant:
One of several terms that refer to the person, usually a member of the clergy, who performs and orchestrates a formal memorialization event such as a memorial service or funeral.
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Ossuary:
a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary. The greatly reduced space taken up by an ossuary means that it is possible to store the remains of many more people in a single tomb than if the original coffins were left as is.
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Outer Burial Container:
Any container which is designed for placement in the grave around the casket including, but not limited to, containers commonly known as burial vaults, grave boxes and grave liners.
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Pall:
A large piece of cloth, usually ornamented with designs, which drapes the casket. It is usually associated with Catholic services, but might be used at a service in an Episcopal, Lutheran or other church.
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Pallbearers:
In England they are the honored persons selected to carry the pall (usually at arms length above their heads) as the casket is carried beneath by the under bearers. This term is frequently (and inaccurately) used to refer to the under bearers or casket bearers.
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Planning Conference:
A scheduled event at which the mortician or funeral director meets with interested parties to plan the disposition and related memorialization events, for a deceased person.
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Prayer Card or Prayer Folder:
A printed keepsake that contains the name of the deceased that may also contain: pictures (sometimes religious), poetry, scripture or other inspirational material, information regarding the service and the complete or edited version of the obituary.
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Prayer service:
A usually planned and structured memorialization event, usually held in conjunction with a gathering or visitation. It is usually less formal than a memorial service or funeral.
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Presider:
One of several terms that refer to the person, usually a member of the clergy, who performs and orchestrates a formal memorialization event such as a memorial service or funeral.
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Procession:
The formal caravan of cars or pedestrians associated with the conveyance of the deceased between memorialization events. It also refers to the formal entry and exit that mark the beginning and ending of a memorialization event.
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Professional Service Fee:
The fee charged for our services including, but not limited to, administrative, clerical and legal services performed by the funeral home in conjunction with the preparation for the disposition of human remains and the memorialization options chosen.
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Receiving Vault:
A building designed for the temporary confinement of a casketed human remains which is utilized until the place of final disposition is prepared. This temporary confinement is common in northern climates when burial is to be delayed until spring.
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Rental casket:
A casket or casket shell that is available for use during the visitation or funeral phase of the memorialization. After these ceremonies, the rental casket remains the property of the funeral home and the decedent is placed into an alternative container for final disposition.
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Retort:
The specific enclosure with a crematory inside which cremation takes place.
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Scattering:
The legally sanctioned dispersal of cremated remains that have been removed from their urn over water or on public or private property with express permission of the land holder or owner, or by commingling in a designated area within a dedicated cemetery or other authorized location. This term also refers to the mixing of cremated remains with, or placing them on top of, the soil or ground cover. One point can not be over-emphasized. Scattering should only be performed with the proper permits and authorizations of the public authorities which have jurisdiction pertaining to the process and the authorization of the owner or manager of the location on which the scattering is to take place.
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Sepulchral:
The individual resting places of dead human bodies within a mausoleum.
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Social Security notification:
A legal document, provided to the Social Security Administration, by the funeral home, certifying a human death. This singular notification trickles down to many other branches of the government.
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Spring Burial:
Particularly common in northern climates, some cemeteries are forced, or choose, not to inter during the winter, causing casketed human remains to be temporarily confined in a receiving vault until conditions permit interment.
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Tomb:
A place for the final disposition of a deceased which is hewn from solid rock.
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Under bearers:
The persons who carry the casket. Another term for casket bearers. In England, where the term originated, these were usually paid professionals with no relationship to the deceased.
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Urn:
A container made from a variety of materials including, but not limited to, bronze, ceramic, glass, porcelain, wood or other materials, into which cremated remains are placed. Many are designed in traditional vase-like shapes, however the shape is limited only by the imagination of the designer.
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Viewing Casket:
As the name implies, this is a casket or casket shell that is available for use during a viewing or funeral ceremony. After the viewing and/or ceremony, the decedent is placed in an alternative container for cremation, entombment or burial.
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Visitation:
A scheduled informal memorialization event, with the visible body present, designed for the honoring and remembering of the deceased.
