Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bier \Bier\, n. [OE. b[ae]e, beere, AS. b?r, b?re; akin to D.
   baar, OHG. b[=a]ra, G. bahre, Icel barar, D? baare, L.
   feretrum, Gr. ?, from the same ?? bear to produce. See 1st
   {Bear}, and cf. {Barrow}.]
   1. A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed
      or borne to the grave.

   2. (Weaving) A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of
      woolen cloth. --Knight.

Source : WordNet®

bier
     n 1: a coffin along with its stand; "we followed the bier to the
          graveyard"
     2: a stand to support a corpse or a coffin prior to burial