Descriptionary

flower car a car that transports floral arrangements to the cemetery.

final rites a graveside funeral service.

first call the first meeting between a funeral director and the family of the deceased, usually at the home of the deceased.

funeral coach see hearse.

funeral director one who runs a funeral home and arranges for the care and burial of the deceased and who may act as a counselor to the bereaved. Also known as a mortician or undertaker.

funeral home an establishment that embalms and otherwise cares for the remains of the deceased and arranges for burial. Also known as a mortuary.

funeral spray cut flowers or a floral arrangement sent to the home of the deceased or to the funeral home.

grave the hole in the ground into which a coffin containing the deceased or an urn containing the cre- mains of the deceased is placed.

grave liner a container into which a casket is placed to protect it from the collapse of a grave.

hearse a vehicle that carries a corpse to its gravesite. Also known as a casket coach or funeral coach.

honorary pallbearer one who acts as part of an honor guard for the deceased but who does not carry the casket.

hospice an organization made up of volunteers and nurses who care for the dying in their home.

inquest an inquiry by a jury into the cause of death.

in state of the deceased, presented for viewing by the bereaved.

inter to bury a body in a grave.

interment the burying of a body in a grave.

inurnment the playing of the deceased's ashes into an urn after cremation.

medical examiner a physician who performs autop­sies on those who die by suicide, criminal action, or other violent means.

morgue a facility where unknown dead bodies are stored until they can be identified by relatives and then examined for cause of death.

mortician see funeral director.

mortuary see funeral home.

mortuary science the art and science of embalming and preparing a body for burial.

niche a small space in a wall for holding cremains in an urn.

obituary a death notice appearing in a newspaper.

pallbearers friends or family of the deceased who carry the casket during a funeral service or as needed.

preparation room in a funeral home, a room used to ready a body for burial.

preparation table a table on which a body rests while it is being embalmed and otherwise prepared for burial.

procession a slow-moving line of vehicles, includ­ing a hearse, proceeding from the funeral service to the cemetery.

purge a putrefied discharge of intestinal material from an orifice of the deceased due to inadequate embalming.

register a sign-in book in which visitors to the funeral home register their names during a service.

reposing room the room in which a body lies in state in its casket until the funeral.

restorative art dermatological repair of damaged features of the deceased.

rigor mortis the stiffening of the muscles after death.

slumber room in a funeral home, a room in which the deceased may lie in a bed before being placed in a casket.

trade embalmer an independent embalmer who may work for several different funeral homes.

undertaker see funeral director.

urn a container in which cremains are held.

vigil among Roman Catholics, a service held the night before the funeral.

visitation in a funeral home, a scheduled time when friends and family may pay their respect to the deceased.

wake a viewing of the deceased before burial, some­times lasting all night long.

police and detectives

(Also see law)

accelerant police lab term for gasoline, kerosene, turpentine, or diesel fuel, any of which may be used in an arson fire.

A.C.U. anticrime unit.

A.D.A. assistant district attorney.

adipocere the waxy, soapy substance made up of fatty acids and insoluble salts that forms on a corpse, especially in a moist environment. Also known as grave wax.

A.K.A. also known as; alias.

alias any false name used by a criminal.

A.P.B. all points bulletin, issued to help locate a fleeing suspect.

at large of a criminal, yet to be apprehended.

automatism a crime performed unconsciously, as when sleepwalking. Defendants in rare cases have been found innocent by using such a defense.

bag 'em slang, to place a corpse into a body bag.

ballistics the study of firearms and bullets, used to identify weapons employed in a crime, the locations of the criminals when they fired them, etc.

banker a dealer or other street person who holds cash paid out for drugs.

baton a police officer's small club, carried on his or her person for defensive purposes. Also known as a nightstick or billy club.