Home › Glossary › Letter B

bier

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A movable frame on which a corpse or coffin is placed before burial; a symbol of death and mourning.

Detailed Definition
The “bier” is central to elegiac poetry, representing the final journey of the dead. Its stark simplicity evokes communal grief, ritual, and the body’s return to earth. Romantic poets used it to meditate on mortality’s dignity, while Gothic verse emphasized its eerie stillness—often paired with candlelight, shrouds, or ghostly processions.
Example
Example in poetry:
The bier bore him home beneath a shroud of snow; They wept by the empty bier where dreams were laid; The willow bends o’er every lonely bier; On yonder bier, my love lies cold and still
Additional Notes
“Bier” is the frame bearing a corpse to burial, central to elegiac poetry as a symbol of death, mourning, and ritual. Its stark simplicity evokes communal grief and the body’s return to earth. Romantic poets used it to meditate on mortality’s dignity; Gothic verse emphasized its eerie stillness. Related terms include “coffin,” “catafalque,” and “hearse,” but “bier” uniquely denotes the exposed, temporary platform—emphasizing vulnerability and transition rather than enclosure or transport.
Other Meanings of “bier”
Also Known As
coffin stand
Skip to main content