Meaning

noun a vehicle for carrying a coffin to a church or a cemetery; formerly drawn by horses but now usually a motor vehicle

originFrom Middle English herse, hers, herce, from Old French herce in the sense "triangular framework used to support candles". Ultimately the same word as Old French herce (“harrow”), from Latin *herpicem, accusative singular of *herpex, a variant form of hirpex (“harrow”). The agricultural device's name comes from Oscan hirpus (“wolf”), a reference to a harrow's many teeth. The term for wolf may…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0