cerecloth

English

Etymology

cere +‎ cloth, from Latin cera (“wax, cere”).

Noun

cerecloth (countable and uncountable, plural cerecloths)

1. (historical) Cloth coated with wax so that it is waterproof, used for covering the dead.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:

     ’Twere damnation
     To think so base a thought; it were too gross
     To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave.