Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation.

The word took two different paths, Cofin in Old French originally meaning basket, became Coffin in English and became Couffin in modern French which nowadays means a cradle. A distinction is often made between coffin and casket: the latter is generally understood to denote a four-sided (almost always rectangular) funerary box, while a coffin is usually six sided. However, coffins having a one-piece side with a curve at the shoulder instead of a join are more commonly used in the UK.

Etymology

First attested in English in 1380, the word coffin derives from the Old French cofin, from Latin cophinus, which means a basket, which is the latinisation of the Greek κόφινος (kophinos), "basket". The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek ko-pi-na, written in Linear B syllabic script.

Any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewelry, use of the word "casket" in this sense began as a euphemism introduced by the undertaker's trade. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" and "caskets", using coffin to refer to a tapered hexagonal or octagonal (also considered to be anthropoidal in shape) box and casket to refer to a rectangular box, often with a split lid used for viewing the deceased as seen in the picture above. Receptacles for cremated and cremulated human ashes (sometimes called cremains) are called urns.

Horse jumping obstacles

Various obstacles are found in competitive sports involving horse jumping. These include show jumping, hunter, and the cross-country phase of the equestrian discipline of eventing. The size and type of obstacles vary depending on the course and the level of the horse and rider, but all horses must successfully negotiate these obstacles in order to complete a competition. Fences used in hunter and eventing are generally made to look relatively rustic and natural.

In jumping competition, they are often brightly colored and creatively designed. In hunter and jumper competition, obstacles are constructed to fall down if struck by the horse. In eventing, they are built to be solid, though for safety, certain elements may be designed to break away if hit.

Arrowhead

Also called chevrons, these fences are shaped like triangles, with the point facing towards the ground. They are generally very narrow, usually only a few feet wide. Arrowhead fences require the rider to keep their horse straight between their hands and legs, as it is easy for a run-out to occur due to the narrowness of the fence. These fences are often used in combination with other obstacles to increase their difficulty, such as right after a bank or as the second obstacle in a bending line. This tests the rider's ability to regain control of his/her horse following an obstacle.

Coffin (surname)

Coffin is an Anglo-Norman surname.

The House of Coffin is an ancient English family which originated in Normandy, France. The Coffins have held a number of manors, the most notable of which is Portledge in Devon, England, which they held for over nine centuries. The progenitor of the American Coffins was Tristram Coffin, a Royalist, who came to Massachusetts from Devonshire in 1642. He was the original proprietor of Nantucket. The American branch is one of the Boston Brahmin, a group of elite families based in and around Boston. Many American Coffins are or were Quakers.

List of notable people surnamed Coffin