lie in state

English

Verb

lie in state (third-person singular simple present lies in state, present participle lying in state, simple past lay in state, past participle lain in state)

1. (intransitive) Of the ceremony of having a deceased official, such as a head of state, be placed in a state building to allow the public to pay their respects, often followed by a state funeral.

   Coordinate terms: lie in honor, lie in repose

   • 1952 April, “The Passing of King George VI”, in Railway Magazine, page 233:

     The body of the King was then taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state for three days.

   • 2019 October 19, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Cummings to Lie in State in the Capitol”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Representative Elijah E. Cummings, whose death on Thursday left both Republicans and Democrats mourning the loss of a lawmaker they praised as passionate and decent, will lie in state in the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday. […] No African-Americans have lain in state in the Rotunda, and only two have lain there in honor: Mrs. Parks in 2005 and Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut, a Capitol Police officer killed in the line of duty, in 1998.

   • 2022 September 12, “The Queen to lie in state in London: everything you need to know”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall in London from Wednesday at 5pm until 6:30am Monday 19 September.

Further reading

• lying in state on Wikipedia.Wikipedia