Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[erik19283]

Hello,

Between casket and coffin, is there any difference?

Is it simply a personal preference to use one or the other?

Does it depend whether you are using American or British English?

Thank you for your help.

[Philo Kevetch]

Hello erik -

According to the dictionary....

Am. E. - both coffin and casket mean a long box in which a dead person is buried.

Br. E. - a coffin is a long box in which dead people are buried.

Br. E. - a casket is a small box in which jewellery or other valuables are kept.

So... according to the dictionary, your guess about a difference between Br. E. and Am. E. was correct.

Anyone have a dictionary offering different definitions? :) Philo

[LucentShade]

"casket" is also used as a euphenistic word for coffin, meaning that people say it when they want to be nice and avoid confronting things directly. It's kind of like saying "They sell pre-owned cars" to avoid saying "They sell used cars."

"He has passed away" --sounds "nicer" than "He is dead"
so in a similar way, "casket" sounds "nicer" than "coffin." I don't know why

[alan.es]

I agree, Lucentshade, that 'casket' is used by funeral directors because it sounds 'naicer'(sic) than 'coffin'. This is the same in the UK nowadays.

However the 'casket' is probably much more elaborate with silk linings and fancy, polished brass handles and hinges rather than the 'coffin', which is likely to be a more simple wooden box - more profit for the funeral director.

A casket, as said, when used for jewellery is usually itself much prettier than a simple box.

[KazAV]

I had a look about on the internet as I, as a native Brit, would usually say coffin. From what I can find, at least in the UK, the difference between a coffin and a casket is that a casket is a rectangular shaped box whereas a coffin has an irregular hexagonal (6-sided) shape. Sorry to be a bit morbid but here's a link to help you see what I mean:

http://www.jcwalwyn.co.uk/sol%20coffin.htm

Click on the different pages to find out more.

Casket is used more generally in the USA, as someone has already pointed out.

Also, as already stated, a casket in the UK is normally something you put jewellery away in.

[MrPedantic]

Casket for coffin seems to be recorded from 1870 in the US.

Sometimes the receptacle for someone's ashes is referred to as a casket.

MrP

[erik19283]

Wow! Thank you all for all this wonderful information.

I do have a few more questions after reading all the posts.

Are British people using only "coffin" or do they also have another word that they consider "nicer"?

What was that from alan.es: 'naicer'(sic)?
Why "nicer" is spelled that way?
What is the "(sic)" for?

[alan.es]

When we use (sic) after a word it indicates that this is the way in which the word was actually spelled or said. It indicates it is deliberately quoted in that way.

'Naicer' is trying to mimic the way some people pronounce the word in a rather artificial accent.

I'm British, though not resident in the UK at the moment, and have heard funeral directors use the word 'casket' to refer to the coffin. They use it because it's 'nicer' (or, of course 'naicer'(sic)) and to sell a more expensive coffin.

[KazAV]

From my experience, we have always called it a coffin. It is sometimes jokingly referred to as a wooden box that they carry you away in.

[MrPedantic]

Yes, "coffin" is acceptable in my circles too...

MrP