For nine long nights, through all the dusky air, The pyres thick flaming shot a dismal glare. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
pyre — [paıə US paır] n [Date: 1600 1700; : Latin; Origin: pyra, from Greek, from pyr fire ] a high pile of wood on which a dead body is placed to be burned in a funeral ceremony ▪ a funeral pyre … Dictionary of contemporary English
pyre — 1650s, from L. pyra, from Gk. pyra a hearth, funeral pyre, from pyr (gen. pyros) fire, cognate with O.E. fyr (see FIRE (Cf. fire) (n.)) … Etymology dictionary
pyre — [ paır ] noun count a high pile of wood for burning a dead body in a funeral ceremony … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
pyre — ► NOUN ▪ a heap of combustible material, especially one for the ritual cremation of a corpse. ORIGIN Greek pur fire … English terms dictionary
pyre — [pīr] n. [L pyra < Gr < pyr, FIRE] a pile, esp. of wood, on which a dead body is burned in a funeral rite … English World dictionary
Pyre — For the English band The Jam s song, see Funeral Pyre. An Ubud cremation ceremony in 2005 A pyre (Greek: πυρά, pyrá, from πυρ, pýr, fire), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral … Wikipedia
pyre — di·pyre; pyre; pyre·tog·e·nous; … English syllables
pyre — n. a funeral pyre * * * [ paɪə] a funeral pyre … Combinatory dictionary
pyre — UK [paɪə(r)] / US [paɪr] noun [countable] Word forms pyre : singular pyre plural pyres a high pile of wood for burning a dead body in a funeral ceremony … English dictionary
pyre — noun Etymology: Latin pyra, from Greek, from pyr fire more at fire Date: 1587 a combustible heap for burning a dead body as a funeral rite; broadly a pile of material to be burned < a pyre of dead leaves > … New Collegiate Dictionary
