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Coffin

3 stages from Greek to English.

Today it means a box in which a dead body is buried

Where does the word "coffin" come from? It comes from Greek kophinos, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

kophinos→cofin→coffin

Greek · ancient

Greek, a wicker basket

Old French · medieval

also a pastry crust

English · 1300s

"box; pie crust"

the burial sense dates from the 1500s

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Coffin’s story begins in Greek: kophinos meant “basket.” Greek, a wicker basket. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as cofin. Also a pastry crust. It reached English by 1300s as coffin. The burial sense dates from the 1500s. Today, coffin means a box in which a dead body is buried.