bier: a stand on which a corpse or coffin is placed.

cairn: a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or landmark.

calumnies: misrepresentations intended to harm another's reputation.

catafalque: an ornamental structure sometimes used in funerals for the lying in state of the body.

chant du cygne: [French] swan song.

ci-git: [French] here lies--used preceding a name on a tombstone.

cromlech: a circle of monoliths usually enclosing a dolmen or mound.

dakhma: a circular stone wall on which the Parsis expose their dead to vultures.

diffident: hesitant, reserved, unassertive.

ghat: a broad flight of steps.

homburg: a man's felt hat with a stiff curled brim and a high crown creased lengthwise.

mastaba: an Egyptian tomb of the time of the Memphite dynasties that is oblong in shape with sloping sides and a flat roof.

obeisance: acknowledgment of another's superiority or importance.

obsequies: funeral or burial rites.

ossuary: a depository for the bones of the dead.

sepulture: burial.

tope: a usually dome-shaped structure (such as a mound) serving as a Buddhist shrine.

tumulus: an artificial hillock or mound (as over a grave).