Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

coffin door

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English

Syllables: coffin -door
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A door that leads directly into the second story of some older houses, used to bring in (and out) a coffin when a person died on the second story (where people often slept) and the coffin could not be brought up the (usually narrow or spiral) staircase from the first story.

noun

A door on the first story of a house which leads directly into a room that would be used for hosting an in-home funeral, and/or that is wide enough to bring a coffin through.

Example Sentences

"… second window from the right on the second story replaced the “coffin door,” a necessity in homes where a coffin and other furniture could not fit on the staircase."
"I remember jumping off the high steps that led up to the coffin door on the second floor of the cottage, so named because the deceased could easily be loaded onto a horse-drawn hearse that way. I was scared, but I didn't want to be called chicken by my cousins, so [...]"

Inflected Forms

coffin doors (plural)

Questions

What does coffin door mean?: A door that leads directly into the second story of some older houses, used to bring in (and out) a coffin when a person died on the second story (where people often slept) and the coffin could not be brought up the (usually narrow or spiral) staircase from the first story.

How to pronounce coffin door

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