noun

1. a wooden framework, usually draped, on which the body in a coffin lies in state during an elaborate funeral
2. R.C.Ch. a coffinlike structure used to represent the dead at a requiem Mass after the actual burial

Etymology: Fr < It catafalco, funeral canopy, stage; prob. < VL *catafalicum, scaffold < cata- (< Gr kata, down) + *falicum < L fala, wooden tower