pyre

[pahyuh r] /paɪər/
noun
1.
a pile or heap of wood or other combustible material.
2.
such a pile for burning a dead body, especially as part of a funeral rite, as in India.
Origin
1650-60; < Latin pyra < Greek pyrá hearth, funeral pile
Can be confused
buyer, byre, pyre.
Examples from the web for pyre
  • He climbed onto the pyre himself and stayed there, without uttering another sound, until the fire consumed him.
  • We brought her back to the house and placed her in the burn pit on a wooden pyre.
  • Behind the village they erect a pyre, on which they burn the straw figure, reviling and scoffing at it the while.
  • The property and belongings of the deceased were placed on a pyre along with the body, to accompany the spirits.
British Dictionary definitions for pyre

pyre

/paɪə/
noun
1.
a heap or pile of wood or other combustible material, esp one used for cremating a corpse
Word Origin
C17: from Latin pyra, from Greek pura hearth, from pur fire
Word Origin and History for pyre
n.

1650s, from Latin pyra and directly from Greek pyra "funeral pyre; altar for sacrifice; any place where fire is kindled," from pyr "fire," cognate with Old English fyr (see fire (n.)).