† mourning-staffn.Obsolete a black pole carried in a funeral procession.
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the world > life > death > obsequies > [noun] > a funeral > funeral procession > black pole carried
mourning-staffc1730
c1730 R. SavageAuthor to be Let Publ. Pref. Had it not been more laudable in Mr. Roome, the son of an undertaker, to have borne a link and a mourning-staff in the long procession of a funeral, than [etc.].