pyre
noun
- structure for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈpaɪɚ/
noun
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin pyra (“pyre, funeral pile”), from Ancient Greek πυρά (purá), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”). Doublet of fire.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which corpses are burned.
“The villagers built a funeral pyre to honor their dead.”
“The effigy was set ablaze on the pyre.”
- Any heap or pile of combustibles.
“Flames rose high from the pyre in the night sky.”