noun
pall
PAWL/pɔːl/
A cloth covering a coffin or dead body.
A white pall covers the coffin on the bier.
Etymology
The covering became specifically a cloth spread over a coffin. That funeral association gave rise to the figurative pall: gloom felt as a covering over a situation.
More examples
- The family chooses a blue pall for the coffin.
- Before the burial, they carefully remove and fold the pall.
- The church keeps its funeral palls in a wooden cabinet.
Forms
pall · palls