cat‧a‧falque /ˈkætəfælk/
noun [countable] formal[
Date: 1600-1700;
Language: Italian;
Origin: catafalco, from Vulgar Latin catafalicum 'stage, platform, scaffold', from Greek kata- ( ⇒ cataclysm) + Latin fala 'movable wooden structure for attacking towns']
a decorated raised structure on which the dead body of an important person is placed before their funeral
[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲