This post is for the curious and engaged, like so many of my dear young people. In it, we will explore some interesting funeral related terms. These words were certainly new to me, however you may be more widely read than I. If that is the case, well done, you! And for the rest of us, perhaps you will find this post useful in navigating the bits and pieces that come with funerals and funeral planning. Each one, teach one, yes?

Dear Young People,

I’m constantly learning important things by talking with you. For example, one young beauty recently told me that he’s been playing an instrument for a mere ten months. He’s really good at it, and I was reminded that significant progress can be made when we make a decision and take action in alignment with that decision. Thanks, young friend! You have no idea how inspiring you are.

And since I’m always learning things from the youth, I wanted to return the favour, if you’ll allow me. I wanted to share some info that you might find interesting or useful. At the very least, it might come in handy for trivia purposes. One never knows.

So here we go.

Why you need to know words related to death

Every field, industry, and area of societal life has its particular vocabulary. For example, some of us who speak a little French are able to hold our own in the office or at the grocery store, but certainly could not manage our way through a French church service. Why? Because the vocabulary is specific and we don’t have it. And know this: When the time comes and you need to take action on this stuff, you may not be in the frame of mind to learn and understand new things. So why not learn it now?!

And the good news is that a broadened vocabulary is easily achieved, with just a wee bit of effort. So let’s explore some words related to death! This will make you better informed than many, and could possibly serve as interesting trivia info to share at work or on a date! Attache ta tuque! mes amis, and let’s go!

Funeral terms you need to know: Columbarium

If cremation is your thing, you need to know what columbarium means.

• Columbarium: A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin columba (dove) and originally solely referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons, also called dovecotes.

There are various forms for columbaria, but know that the common denominator is that it is a niche-like cubby where the ashes are stored.

Next!

Funeral terms you need to know: Cremains

If you were paying attention – and I hope you were – this term was used in the definition for columbarium. This term is a tiny leap from “remains”, which makes it fairly straighforward to retain in the memory. Cremains are the ashes of a cremated human body.

Not much more to say here. Next.

Funeral terms you need to know: Interment

The interment of a dead person is their burial. Pretty straightforward.

Crucial Consideration

Be very careful when using this one, especially when you’re writing it. Spell check likely won’t catch it if you mistakenly use internment instead. This is a completely different word with a different meaning. You are not trying to use it in this context, so do pay attention. Just so you know, I was recently purging and decided to clear out some old funeral programs: “internment” had been mistakenly used in more than one (three out of twelve, to be precise). So find a friend and ask them to be your proofreader. You’ll be glad you did.

Funeral terms you need to know: Inurnment

This just keeps getting more interesting, wouldn’t you agree? Inurnment refers to the placing of the ashes (the cremains) into the urn. Some sites indicate that the term also encompasses the placing of the urn into the niche (columbaria).

Similar to interment – when the body is placed into a grave or tomb -inurnment is the equivalent idea for when the body is cremated and the remains are put into the final resting place.

Struggling to remember this word? Just break it into syllables and you’ll see it quite clearly: in-urn-ment. It’s in the urn. You’ll remember this forever.

Important Consideration

Note that, once inurned, ashes can also be interred. (Tongue twister!). One can choose to have one’s ashes buried in the ground just as one would with a casket. In this case, you might see reference made to the ashes having been interred.

Conclusion

There is a wide range of words related to death that we could explore, but we’ll stop here, so as to keep it fun! The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know, don’t you find? Well, as my mum always says, every knowledge is useful, and now we have a few new words in our backpockets. Use them responsibly and tell your friends.

Have you ever been in a relatively serious situation and used the wrong term to describe something? We’ve all done it, so let us know in the comments and we can learn from each other. And let me know if you’d like to see more funeral terms and definitions posts and I’ll do my best to oblige.