Other forms: coffins
A coffin is the box a body is buried in. A wooden coffin, carry the coffin, lower the coffin.
A coffin is tapered at the shoulders and a casket is rectangular, which is the distinction the trade keeps and American English mostly ignores. Another nail in the coffin means another step towards an end. Note that the Greek behind it means a basket, which is what the word first meant.
1nouncoffinThe box a body is buried in.
“Six men carried the coffin slowly out of the church.”
coffin is a burial box.
Old French cofin comes from Latin cophinus, a basket, from Greek kophinos. Coffer is the same word arriving separately.
Ancient Greek
κόφινος — a basket
Latin
cophinus — basket
fro-nor
cofin — sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer
Middle English
coffyn
English, today
coffin
From Middle English coffyn, from fro-nor cofin (“sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer”), from Latin cophinus (“basket”), a loanword from Ancient Greek κόφινος (“a basket”). a doublet of coffer. Displaced native þrūh.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA