# So, is it casket or coffin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469 "2005-04-08T20:47:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/1 "2005-04-08T20:47:15Z")
I’ve wondered this before but recently, watching the pope’s services, both have been used. On CNN, two separate reporters both discussed his burial, while one used coffin, the other said casket. (Not the same report, about an hour apart) I remember when my mother passed, the term coffin seemed somewhat disrespectful or morbid. I guess I related coffins to vampires. Why would someone use one opposed to another? Is there a difference? ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/2 "2005-04-08T21:08:03Z")
I think this calls for a googlefight. Like you, I’ve seen both used. My Webster’s new collegiate suggests that casket = fancy coffin. that is borne out by my own connotations, in that when “coffin” I think of something more simple. Given what i understand about papal burials, simple is the very idea they’re going for, at least with the cypress coffin. So while it may not make a lot of difference, I think “coffin” may be more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/3 "2005-04-08T21:12:43Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard any non-American use of ‘casket’. So maybe it’s partly just yet another transatlantic difference. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/4 "2005-04-08T23:54:24Z")
my thinking is: casket has handles carried by hand, coffin goes on shoulders (no handles). ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/5 "2005-04-09T01:14:16Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** Moving to General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/6 "2005-04-09T01:23:18Z")
The [_American Heritage Dictionary_](http://www.bartleby.com/61/) defines a [coffin](http://www.bartleby.com/61/89/C0458900.html) as “[a]n oblong box in which a corpse is buried”, and a [casket](http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/C0142600.html) as “a coffin”. However, the _Merriam-Webster Unabridged_ notes that a coffin is “a box or chest for a corpse to be buried in formerly often of a hexagonal or wedge shape, wider at the head than at the foot”, whereas a casket is “a usually ornamented and lined rectangular box or chest for a corpse to be buried in”–so if it’s shaped like [this](http://www.metalcorefanzine.com/coffin.gif), it’s a coffin. Both dictionaries agree that a casket can also be a small, ornamented box for jewels and the like. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/7 "2005-04-09T01:31:39Z")
It seems to me that I have heard the term “casket” used for boxes that hold things other than bodies. One example is in “The Hobbit”, where Gandalf presents a “casket” that holds the Arkenstone. This usage is perhaps a bit archaic, but the implication seems to be a box custom-built to hold a specific object, rather than just a random box that you have thrown something into. Thus, coffins are caskets, but not all caskets are coffins? _Twasn’t the cough that carried him off. But the coffin they carried him off in._ ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/8 "2005-04-09T01:54:07Z")
What did one casket say to the other casket? ``` Is that you coughin'? ``` ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/9 "2005-04-09T02:05:10Z")
I remembered an interesting dialect survey map that included this question. [http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q\_90.html](http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_90.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/10 "2005-04-09T05:49:34Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard any non-American use of ‘casket’. So maybe it’s partly just yet another transatlantic difference. I’d agree. I’d always assumed that \*casket \* was simply the Americanised form of _coffin_. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/11 "2005-04-09T09:07:23Z")
_I_ call it a waste of resources. Wrap the corpse in burlap; it’s being buried anyway. The traditional term is “coffin.” Morticians & the overly-nice may say “casket,” which is a term for boxes in general, as a euphemism. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/12 "2005-04-09T10:23:32Z")
\ “I want the works: a coffin, a tombstone, anti-stink spray…” “Sir, we prefer the term casket to coffin, and monument to tombstone. We have a full selection of anti-stink sprays.” \ ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/13 "2005-04-09T11:29:57Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > _I_ call it a waste of resources. Wrap the corpse in burlap; it’s being buried anyway. > > The traditional term is “coffin.” Morticians & the overly-nice may say “casket,” which is a term for boxes in general, as a euphemism. I have even noticed that “casket” is used in the UK by morticians/ undertakers/ funeral -directors . Everyone else says “coffin”. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/14 "2005-04-09T11:47:49Z")
An episode of _Hands On History_ (History Channel) answered this very question while touring the [Batesville Casket Company](http://www.batesville.com/home.htm) . They said the difference is that a coffin is six-sided with a bend at the shoulders, and a casket is four-sided. I can’t remember exactly why the coffin became unpopular, other than the obvious: caskets are easier to construct. Quite an interesting show. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/15 "2005-04-09T12:28:56Z")
> [@Seeker74](#): > > a coffin is six-sided with a bend at the shoulders Also known as a [toe-pincher](http://www.vintagecoffins.com/ToePincherIndex.html). ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/16 "2005-04-09T13:08:05Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Also known as a [toe-pincher](http://www.vintagecoffins.com/ToePincherIndex.html). Cool site! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/17 "2005-04-10T03:33:10Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > _I_ call it a waste of resources. Wrap the corpse in burlap; it’s being buried anyway. Luxury. We used to _dream_ of bein’ buried in burlap! ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/18 "2005-04-10T04:34:18Z")
In common American usage it’s like automobile and car. Two words for the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/19 "2005-04-11T05:33:27Z")
I don’t know whether this is really a hijack or not, but here goes… A friend of mine was trying to explain to me once that when someone is buried in a wooden coffin, the coffin is placed in a metal box before being interred. This is to seal the body and prevent it from decomposing into the water table. I have thankfully not buried anyone yet so I had never heard of this. He racked his brain (and Google) to find the name for this box, but never found it. Anyone know? Also, is this a common practice worldwide or only in certain areas or cemetaries? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469/20 "2005-04-11T05:50:28Z")
> [@Saranga](#): > > I don’t know whether this is really a hijack or not, but here goes… > > A friend of mine was trying to explain to me once that when someone is buried in a wooden coffin, the coffin is placed in a metal box before being interred. This is to seal the body and prevent it from decomposing into the water table. I have thankfully not buried anyone yet so I had never heard of this. > > He racked his brain (and Google) to find the name for this box, but never found it. Anyone know? Also, is this a common practice worldwide or only in certain areas or cemetaries? One term for it is a [burial vault.](http://consumerlawpage.com/brochure/12.shtml) Such vaults are usually concrete. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-it-casket-or-coffin/298469.md?page=2)