Glossary A-M

Question 1

Adaptive Funeral

Answer 1

funeral rite that is adjusted to the needs and wants of those directly involved; altered to suit the trends of the times

Question 2

American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE)

Answer 2

organization which accredits funeral service and mortuary science programs.

Question 3

American Monument Association

Answer 3

a national trade association representing the major granite
and marble memorial manufacturers and quarries throughout the United States.

Question 4

Animistic view

Answer 4

early Roman view of the afterlife which emphasizes the soul as the vital principle. The soul at death hovered around the place of burial and required constant attention of the descendants to be happy. Neglect would bring evil upon them. (H24)

Question 5

Anubis

Answer 5

Egyptian god of embalming said to be of human form with the head of a jackal

Question 6

Barber-surgeon

Answer 6

the sole trade permitted to embalm and perform anatomical dissections in the city of London.

Question 7

Bier

Answer 7

forerunner of today’s hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffined body was carried to the grave.

Question 8

Bloodletting

Answer 8

belief or practice of draining a quantity of blood to cure illness or disease.

Question 9

Burial case

Answer 9

generic term used in America to designate all burial receptacles as new variations
of the coffin were being offered

Question 10

Burial club

Answer 10

organizations intended to assist people of the working classes, particularly guild
members, to defray the heavy expenses of the funeral and to perpetuate the memory of dead
friends; costs were shared by others via weekly collections; were the forerunners of industrial
insurance

Question 11

Burial in Woolen Act of 1666

Answer 11

required that woolen cloth be substituted for linen in the shroud
and lining of the coffin; was an attempt to shift the use of imported linen to the expanding paper
industry of England and provide customers for the wool industry. Heavy fines were assessed for
violation; not repealed until 1814.

Question 12

Canopic jars

Answer 12

jars made of alabaster, limestone, basalt, clay and other materials used by the
early Egyptians to store viscera of the deceased.

Question 13

Casket

Answer 13

from the French term ‘casse’ meaning ‘jewel box’ or container for something valuable;
came into dominant use in patent literature for burial receptacles in 1890’s in America.; a rigid
container which is designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually
constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like material, and ornamented and lined with
fabric. (FTC definition); A case or receptacle in which human remains are placed for protection,
practical utility, and a suitable memory picture; Any box or container of one or more parts in
which a dead human body is placed prior to interment, entombment, or cremation which may or
may not be permanently interred, entombed, or cremated with the dead human remains.

Question 14

Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America (CFSAA)

Answer 14

– represents the interests of
funeral service suppliers; its members manufacture or distribute virtually every type of product
used by funeral directors (formerly known as Casket Manufacturers Association)

Question 15

Catacombs

Answer 15

originated in ancient Rome as excavated cemeteries cut out of soft rock for the
tombs of wealthy Christians; later became a place for religious rites to avoid persecution

Question 16

Catafalque

Answer 16

raised platform (with or without a canopy) used for a body to lie in state

Question 17

Catholic Cemetery Conference

Answer 17

the oldest and largest Catholic cemetery association servicing
Catholic cemeterians nationally and internationally

Question 18

Chadwick’s report

Answer 18

a report published in 1843 on unsanitary conditions in London created by
intramural burials and the high cost of funerals; recommended use of a death certificate.

Question 19

Circle of necessity

Answer 19

ancient Egyptian belief that the soul of the deceased would make a 3000-
year journey and return to the body. Once reunited the whole man would live with the gods.
This belief created the need for embalming.

Question 20

Coffin

Answer 20

from the Greek word ‘kofinos’); utilitarian container designed to hold human remains,
often anthropoidal in shape.

Question 21

Columbarium

Answer 21

a structure, room or space in a mausoleum or other building containing niches
or recesses used to hold cremated remains.

Question 22

Cooling board

Answer 22

portable table on which the deceased was placed and used in conjunction with
the corpse cooler; later became the embalming table when embalming was done in the home of
the deceased. (H201)

Question 23

Corpse cooler

Answer 23

type of ice chest placed over the torso of the deceased in order to slow down
the process of decomposition prior to the funeral. It was typically the undertaker’s responsibility
to provide ice and change the ice when it melted.

Question 24

Cortege

Answer 24

historical term for funeral procession.

Question 25

Cremation

Answer 25

the reduction of a dead human body to inorganic bone fragments by intense heat in
a specifically designed retort or chamber; a heating process which incinerates human remains

Question 26

Cremation Association of North America (CANA)

Answer 26

Founded in 1913, CANA is an
international organization of cemeterians, cremationists, funeral directors, industry suppliers and
consultants. CANA was originally formed to promote cremation as a modern, safe and hygienic
way of dealing with a dead human body.

Question 27

Cremation society

Answer 27

Historically, an organization consisting of members who sought cremation
as a means of sanitary or funeral reform. Presently, an organization consisting of members to
ensure their future cremation wishes are met.

Question 28

Cremationist

Answer 28

Historically, a person who advocates or encourages cremation as a method to
replace the burial of the dead. Presently, a trained professional who is authorized and/or licensed
to operate a cremator and perform the cremation process; a professional who arranges and carries
out death care rites when cremation is chosen.

Question 28

Cremation urn

Answer 28

A receptacle created for the purpose of containing remains after cremation.
Cremation urns are created in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials.

Question 29

Crier

Answer 29

English custom of Middle Ages which lasted until 19thcentury; person who walked the
street calling out the name of the deceased and asking people to pray for the soul of the departed.

Question 30

Crematory

Answer 30

the physical location of the cremator where the cremation process is performed.

Question 31

Designator

Answer 31

master of ceremonies and director of the ancient Roman funeral procession

Question 32

Direct disposition

Answer 32

disposition of human remains without any rites or ceremonies with the
body present

Question 33

Effigy

Answer 33

a life-sized, waxen recreation of the deceased; often used at state funerals because the
body of the deceased should be present for the funeral, but could not be preserved for that length
of time.

Question 34

Drummers

Answer 34

traveling salesmen who went from town to town selling their products.
Early embalmers often obtained their products and training in this manner.

Question 35

Effigy

Answer 35

a life-sized, waxen recreation of the deceased; often used at state funerals because the
body of the deceased should be present for the funeral, but could not be preserved for that length
of time.

Question 36

Elysian fields

Answer 36

the version of heaven in Greek mythology

Question 36

Extramural burial

Answer 36

burial outside the walls of the city; concept introduced during the ancient
Roman times.

Question 37

Fisk metallic coffin

Answer 37

patented in 1848 as form-fitting, airtight metallic coffin designed to
improve ability to preserve the body; also had a glass plate to allow for viewing of the face.
(H164)

Question 38

Fossores

Answer 38

gravediggers, sextons and cemeterians in the catacombs during the period of early
Christianity (300 A.D. to 450 A.D.).

Question 39

Funeralis

Answer 39

Latin for torchlight procession; word ‘funeral’ is derived from this (H234)

Question 39

Funeral feast

Answer 39

in Middle Ages the wake also served as a feast to welcome the principal heir to
his new estate. for the ancient Greeks, funeral feasts ended the fast of the bereaved

Question 40

Funeral Service Foundation

Answer 40

a national organization which advances professionalism in
funeral service and enhances public knowledge and understanding through education and
research (formerly National Foundation of Funeral Service).

Question 40

Funeral trolley car

Answer 40

a specially designed train car run on a city’s trolley line to transport casket
and mourners to cemeteries on the outskirts of the city.

Question 41

Funeral undertaker

Answer 41

provided services of organizing and facilitating funeral details as an
occupation; aka undertaker, different from furnishing undertaker.

Question 42

Furnishing undertaker

Answer 42

provided supplies and merchandise (i.e. door badges, carriages, etc.)
to funeral undertakers who were dealing directly with the public.

Question 43

Gravity injector

Answer 43

apparatus used to inject arterial fluid during the vascular (arterial) phase of
the embalming process; relies on gravity to create the pressure required to deliver the fluid (0.43
pounds of pressure per foot of elevation)

Question 44

Hand pump

Answer 44

method to apply a continuous flow of embalming solution via manual
manipulation of a handheld mechanism historical instrument resembling a large hypodermic
syringe attached to a bottle apparatus; used to create pressure for injection or vacuum for
aspiration

Question 45

Hearse

Answer 45

today, a vehicle specially designed to transport casketed remains; derived from French
word, herse; originally a stationary framework of wood to hold candles and decorations placed
on the coffin; forerunner was a bier hearse and bier were used interchangeably until mid -19th
century. Commonly referred to as funeral coach.

Question 46

Immediate burial

Answer 46

disposition via earth burial without any form of funeral rite at the time of
disposition with the body present.

Question 47

International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association (ICCFA)–

Answer 47

international trade
association representing all segments of the cemetery, funeral service, cremation and
memorialization profession.

Question 47

International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards (The Conference;
ICFSEB)

Answer 47

organization of licensing agencies in North America; provides examination services,
information, and regulatory support to funeral service licensing boards, educators, and
governmental bodies.

Question 48

International Order of the Golden Rule (OGR)

Answer 48

an organization of independent, familyowned
funeral homes established in 1928, whose mission is to build and support member
interaction, information exchange and professional business development through a wide range
of programs, services and resources; membership limited to one funeral home per community.
Inviter to funerals – a specialty connected with funerals in colonial America; called personally
upon those expected to attend funerals; often a municipal appointment.

Question 49

Jewish Funeral Directors of America (JFDA)

Answer 49

an association which guides, aids and supports
members in honoring the deceased and comforting the bereaved by preserving, promoting and
practicing the customs and traditions of the Jewish funeral. Now a part of ICCFA.

Question 50

Layers out of the dead

Answer 50

became an occupational specialty practiced by women in many larger
US cities by the end of the 18th century; predecessor to the undertaker

Question 51

Leagues of Prayer

Answer 51

formed in Middle Ages by laypersons to bury the dead and to pray for the
souls of the faithful departed.

Question 52

Libitina

Answer 52

the ancient Roman goddess of corpses and funerals

Question 53

Libitinarius

Answer 53

head undertaker in ancient Rome; the secular role model for today’s funeral
director; conducted his business at the temple of Libitina where deaths were also registered.

Question 53

Life signals

Answer 53

due to the fear of premature burial, many early American coffins were designed
and patented with a method to alert the living if someone was buried alive.

Question 54

Mystery cults

Answer 54

religious/philosophical belief of the ancient Greeks and Oriental East
emphasizing spiritual aspects of the afterlife and the hope of joining the cult god in a wonderful
existence in eternity.

Question 55

Monument Builders of North America

Answer 55

an international trade association of persons and
firms in the memorial industry.