The story
- French · borrowed fromchapelle ardente
- English todaychapelle ardente
French chapelle ardente (literally “burning chapel”), as the body is often surrounded by lighted candles.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
chapelle ardente
Today it means: A chapel or room in which the corpse of a sovereign or other exalted personage lies in state pending the funeral service. Full definition →
French chapelle ardente