Glossary of Terms

Note: The following glossary defines terms as they are used in relation to end of life matters. Some terms defined below may have additional meanings outside the scope of this website.

Arrangement Conference

A meeting in which the Funeral Director meets with the family of the deceased to make funeral arrangements.

At-need

Funeral and cemetery arrangements made at the time of death.

Burial

Placing of remains in an underground chamber, usually in a cemetery; also called ground burial interment.

Burial Certificate or Permit

A legal document issued by the local government authorizing disposition. The permit may authorize ground burial, cremation, entombment or removal.

Burial Vault

A lined container that is specifically engineered to support the weight of the earth over the grave as well as the heavy equipment that passes over it for maintenance

Casket

A container made of wood, metal or plastic into which the body is placed for interment. Caskets were previously known as coffins.

Cemetery

Property set aside for the interment of the deceased.

Certified Death Certificate

A certified copy of the original certificate issued by the local government. Certified death certificates are used when making claims for insurance and other death benefits.

Chapel

A large room in the funeral home in which the funeral or memorial service is held.

Columbarium

A structure designed to hold urns containing cremated remains.

Committal Service

The final portion of the funeral service at which time the deceased is interred or entombed and the last remarks or prayers are said; also referred to as graveside service.

Companion Crypt

A vault or chamber designed to hold two caskets side-by-side.

Cosmetology

The use of cosmetics to restore appearance to the deceased.

Cremation

The reduction of human remains to small bone fragments through the use of intense heat and pulverization.

Cremation Garden

A dedicated section of a cemetery designed for the burial, scattering or other permanent placement of ashes.

Cremation Permit

A certificate issued by local government authorizing cremation of the deceased.

Crematory

A building which houses a retort.

Crypt

A vault or chamber used for keeping remains.

Death Certificate

A legal document signed by the attending physician showing the cause of death and other vital statistical data pertaining to the deceased.

Disinter

To remove the remains from their place of interment.

Display Room

The room in the funeral home in which funeral merchandise such as: caskets, urns, burial garments and vaults are displayed.

Embalm

The process of preserving a body by means of circulating or placing preservative and antiseptic through the veins, arteries and body cavities.

Eulogy

A brief speech that describes and celebrates the life of the person who has passed.

Exhume

To disinter, or unearth a casket.

Family Car

The vehicle, often a limousine, in the funeral procession set aside for use by the immediate family.

Family Room

A specially arranged room in the funeral home which affords the family privacy at the time of the funeral service.

Flower Car

A vehicle used for the transportation of flower pieces from the funeral home to the church and/or cemetery.

Final Disposition

The final arrangement, generally referring to the decision to choose between burial or cremation.

First Call

The initial call from the family notifying the funeral home of a death and requesting the funeral homes services.

Full Couch

A casket which opens completely from one end to the other.

Funeral Director

A professional who helps families to plan funeral services for their loved ones while honoring the deceased and celebrating a life lived.

Funeral Home

A business that offers funeral services for the deceased and their families. Also called a mortuary.

Funeral Service

A ceremony marking an individual's death. The funeral service can be a religious or cultural event and helps to honor the deceased.

Funeral Spray

A collective mass of cut flowers sent to the residence of the deceased or to the funeral home as a floral tribute to the deceased.

Grave

An excavation in the earth for the purpose of burying the deceased.

Grave or Memorial Marker

Commonly referred to as headstones, these are memorials that are usually made of metal or stone which include such information as the name of the individual, date of birth and death, symbols and words of tribute; also called monuments when they stand upright.

Half Couch

A casket in which only half of the top opens from the head to the waist of the deceased.

Hearse

A motor coach specifically designed and used for transporting the casketed remains from the place the funeral service is conducted to the cemetery. A hearse is now more commonly referred to as a funeral coach.

Inter

To bury human remains in the earth in a grave or tomb.

Interment

The burial or final placement of remains.

Inurnment

The placement of cremated human remains in an urn and a placement of such urn in a niche, crypt, grave or other suitable location in a cemetery.

Mausoleum

A public or private building especially designed for entombment and inurnment. It is usually a permanent, above-ground resting place for the deceased.

Memorial Benches

Benches that memorialize a loved one, often featuring an inscription. Some memorial benches are designed to hold an urn containing the cremated remains.

Memorial Donation

A memorial contribution specified to a particular cause or charity, usually in lieu of flowers.

Memorial Service

A service conducted in memory of the deceased without the remains being present; also called a tribute service.

Morgue

A place in which the bodies of persons found deceased are kept until identified and claimed.

Next-of-Kin

A person's nearest relative; the person who hold the responsible for making decisions for the funeral on behalf of the deceased.

Niche

A recess in a wall or columbarium used for the placement of urns containing cremated remains.

Obituary

A notice typically published in the obituary section of a newspaper or on the Internet, announcing the death of an individual. An obituary customarily lists the survivors and details of the visitation and/or funeral service.

Outer Burial Container

A structure used to support a casket in the ground.

Pallbearers

Traditionally pallbearers are those who carry the casket from the funeral coach into the funeral ceremony, and to the designated spot in the cemetery. In some regions, pallbearers are hired; in other regions they are close friends or relatives of the deceased. Since many caskets are now transported into the funeral ceremony on a rolling cart, the role of the pallbearer is now more ceremonial than practical.

Plot

A measured piece of land in a cemetery in which interment rights are purchased by a family or individual.

Prearranged Funeral

Funeral plans made by an individual prior to his/her death, often contracted and funded by insurance or trust.

Preplan

The process in which an individual documents his or her wishes for the care and disposition of their remains after death.

Private Family Estate

A small section of a cemetery, usually bordered by gates, shrubbery or other dividers, that allow for ground burial of several members of the same family.

Private Family Mausoleum

An above-ground structure designed to hold, on average, two to twelve decedents, usually members of the same family.

Private Service

A funeral or memorial service attended by invitation only, i.e. not open to the public.

Procession

May refer to the convoy of vehicles travelling from the place where the funeral service was conducted to the cemetery. May also refer to the orderly movement of mourners following the casket as it is brought into and taken out of the church.

Register

A guest book, usually found near the entrance to a visitation or funeral ceremony, used for recording the names of people who arrive to pay their respects to the deceased and his/her family.

Scattering Garden

A designated section of a cemetery wherein families may scatter the ashes of their loved ones. Nearby plaques are often used to memorialize the deceased whose remains have been interred there.

Service Car

A funeral vehicle used to transport items such as chairs, flower stands, etc. from one location to another.

Sympathy Card

A card sent to the family of the deceased to express condolences.

Urn

A container in which cremated remains are placed. Urns are often made of metal, wood or stone.

Visitation

An informal event, often held at a funeral home, at which survivors and friends gather to grieve. The deceased is usually present in a casket, which may be open or closed. Visitation is also referred to as a viewing.

Wake

Traditionally, a wake refers to the gathering of people after a death to keep watch over the deceased until burial. It is now commonly used to refer to both the visitation prior to the funeral and the reception held after the funeral service.

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