graveclothes means the clothes in which a corpse is buried. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why “graveclothes” is a great word
The garments or wrappings in which a corpse is buried. From Old English *græf* (a place of burial) and *clāþas* (garments); first recorded in use between 1525–35. Unlike cerements, which denote the specific, waxed winding-sheets of ancient ritual, or a shroud, which is a single enveloping cloth, graveclothes are the general, final wardrobe. They are the stiff wool of a Sunday suit, the cold linen of a winding sheet, and the faint, powdery scent of mothballs on a buried uniform—the quiet, material answer to the body’s last and most practical question.
Etymology
From grave + clothes.
noun
- The clothes in which a corpse is buried.