Plural of bier; stands or frames, typically made of wood, used to carry a coffin during a funeral ceremony.
From Old English 'bær' and German 'Bahre,' ultimately from Proto-Germanic. The word originally meant any frame for carrying, but became specifically associated with funeral processions and the respectful transport of the deceased.
The bier is one of humanity's oldest ceremonial objects—archaeological evidence shows similar carrying frames in ancient Egyptian tombs, suggesting that the way we physically carry our dead is one of our most universal rituals.
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