pyre

/ˈpaɪər/

/paɪə/

Other forms: pyres

Pyre rhymes with fire. It's also a noun for a large pile of stuff for burning. Most times a pyre is part of a funeral — the body is burned on it.

From the Greek pura or pur, meaning "fire," pyre came into English in the 17th century. Pyr is also the Czech word for "hot ashes." Remember, a pyre isn't the fire itself but the stuff that helps the fire burn, as firewood at a campfire. People and animals are burned on a pyre as part of a traditional funeral ceremony in some countries.

Definitions of pyre

1. noun

   wood heaped for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
   synonyms: funeral pyre

   type of:

   agglomerate, cumulation, cumulus, heap, mound, pile

   a collection of objects laid on top of each other