undertaker

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The Word of the Day for June 25 is: 

undertaker   \UN-der-tay-ker\   noun
     1 : one that undertakes : one that takes the risk and management of 
business : entrepreneur 
    *2 : one whose business is to prepare the dead for burial and to arrange 
and manage funerals
     3 : an Englishman taking over forfeited lands in Ireland in the 16th and 
17th centuries

Example sentence:
     The undertaker offered the family several choices of coffin for the burial 
service.

Did you know?
     You may wonder how the word "undertaker" made the transition from "one who 
undertakes" to "one who makes a living in the funeral business." The latter 
meaning descends from the use of the word to mean "one who takes on business 
responsibilities." In the 18th century, a funeral-undertaker was someone who 
undertook, or managed, a funeral business. There were many undertakers in those 
days, undertaking all sorts of businesses, but as time went on "undertaker" 
became specifically identified with the profession of arranging burial. Today, 
"funeral director" is more commonly used, but "undertaker" still appears.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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