Definition

1. Verb:
   • To shroud, to wrap a corpse: The action of wrapping or covering a deceased person's body with cloth (typically a shroud) before placing it into a coffin, as part of traditional funeral rites.
   • To lay out (a corpse): To prepare a body for burial by washing, dressing, and wrapping it.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sau khi tắm rửa, họ bắt đầu liệm cho người quá cố. (After washing, they began to shroud the deceased.)
  • Công việc liệm xác thường được thực hiện bởi người thân trong gia đình. (The task of laying out the corpse is often performed by family members.)
  • Theo phong tục, người ta dùng vải trắng để liệm. (According to custom, white cloth is used to shroud the body.)

Advanced Usage

• "Khâm liệm": A formal and respectful term for the entire process of preparing and shrouding the deceased.

  • Lễ khâm liệm được tiến hành trang trọng tại nhà tang lễ. (The shrouding ceremony was conducted solemnly at the funeral home.)

• "Tẩm liệm": Refers to the process of embalming or applying preservatives and then shrouding. This term is less common in modern usage.

  • Xưa kia, tẩm liệm là một nghi thức phức tạp. (In the past, embalming and shrouding was a complex ritual.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khâm liệm (v/n): The ceremonial shrouding of a body.
• Liệm (n): Can be used as a noun in compound terms to refer to the shroud itself or the act, e.g., (shroud cloth).

Synonyms

• Bó (v): To wrap or bind (a more general term, not specific to funerals).
• Quấn (v): To wind, to wrap around (general action).

Notes on Meaning

• The word "liệm" is specifically and almost exclusively used in the context of death and funeral preparations. It carries a solemn and respectful connotation.
• It denotes a specific step in Vietnamese funeral customs, distinct from placing the body in the coffin ().

verb

1. to shroud, to lay out