undertaker

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>undertaker</strong> &#149; \UN-der-tay-ker\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> one who <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undertakes">undertakes</a> <strong>:</strong> one who takes the risk and management of business <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur">entrepreneur</a> </p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> one whose business is to prepare the dead for burial and to arrange and manage funerals </p> <p><strong>3 :</strong> an Englishman taking over forfeited lands in Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The <em>undertaker</em> offered the family several choices of coffins for the burial service.</p> <p>"The movement towards home-thrown funerals is being spearheaded by Heidi Boucher, a self-proclaimed home death-care guide. Boucher is what could best be described as half holistic hippie, and half 19th century <em>undertaker</em>." — <a href="https://blog.timesunion.com/hoffmanfiles/home-is-where-the-heart-is-and-sometimes-funerals/45951/">Rob Hoffman, <em>The Times Union</em> (Albany, New York), 24 Feb. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>You may wonder how the word <em>undertaker</em> made the transition from "one who undertakes" to "one who makes a living in the funeral business." The latter meaning descends from the use of the word to mean "one who takes on business responsibilities." In the 18th century, a funeral-undertaker was someone who undertook, or managed, a funeral business. There were many undertakers in those days, undertaking all sorts of businesses, but as time went on <em>undertaker</em> became specifically identified with the profession of arranging burial. Today, <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio