bier

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

bier
    n 1: a coffin along with its stand; "we followed the bier to the
         graveyard"
    2: a stand to support a corpse or a coffin prior to burial

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Bier \Bier\, n. [OE. b[ae]e, beere, AS. b?r, b?re; akin to D.
   baar, OHG. b[=a]ra, G. bahre, Icel barar, D? baare, L.
   feretrum, Gr. ?, from the same ?? bear to produce. See 1st
   {Bear}, and cf. {Barrow}.]
   1. A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed
      or borne to the grave.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Weaving) A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of
      woolen cloth. --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]

from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

Bier
the frame on which dead bodies were conveyed to the grave (Luke
7:14).