lich-wake

English

Alternative forms

• lichwake, lich wake, lyke-wake, lykewake, likewake, likewalk, lykewalk

Noun

lich-wake (plural lich-wakes)

1. (obsolete, Scotland) The wake, or watching, held over a corpse before burial.
   • 1871, Walter Field, Stones of the temple, or, Lessons from the fabric and furniture of the church‎:

     In some parts of Scotland is still kept up the custon of Lyke-wake (Lich-wake), or watching beside the dead body before its burial.

   • 1913, The Journal of State Medicine:

     Funeral rites in the house (lich wakes) should be avoided out of regard for the health of the members of the family.

   • 2016, Arthur Morrison, The Shadows Around Us‎:

     The custom of the "lich-wake," corresponding largely with the surviving Irish custom of waking the dead, had not then died out in Scotland, and in Monifieth was frequently practised.

Synonyms

• late-wake