Diener
Encyclopedia
The word Diener is German
for servant. In English
, it is generally used to describe the person, in the morgue
, responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the corpse (though, at some institutions dieners perform the entire dissection at autopsy). It is derived from the German word Leichendiener, which literally means corpse servant.
Dieners are also referred to as morgue attendants, autopsy technicians and other titles that can vary from region to region.
In the American Moravian Church. German: Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, the men and particularly the women, who serve in various church services, like the Lovefeast
, are called "Dieners", from the German title for their office, Saaldiener or "chapel servant".
, in which a morgue attendant is suspected of stealing personal items from the bodies of murder
victims, is titled "Diener."
The diener is the assistant to the pathologist
Martha Serpas
's poem "The Diener" uses the word in all these ways.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for servant. In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, it is generally used to describe the person, in the morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the corpse (though, at some institutions dieners perform the entire dissection at autopsy). It is derived from the German word Leichendiener, which literally means corpse servant.
Dieners are also referred to as morgue attendants, autopsy technicians and other titles that can vary from region to region.
In the American Moravian Church. German: Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, the men and particularly the women, who serve in various church services, like the Lovefeast
Lovefeast
A Lovefeast service is a service dedicated to Christian love, and is most famously practiced by the Moravians but also by groups descending from the Schwarzenau Brethren...
, are called "Dieners", from the German title for their office, Saaldiener or "chapel servant".
Trivia
Season 5, Episode 14 of Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
, in which a morgue attendant is suspected of stealing personal items from the bodies of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
victims, is titled "Diener."
The diener is the assistant to the pathologist
Martha Serpas
Martha Serpas
Martha Serpas is a contemporary American poet.Serpas grew up in Galliano, Louisiana, and received her BA from Louisiana State University. She subsequently did graduate study at New York University , Yale Divinity School , and the University of Houston . Serpas formerly taught at the University of...
's poem "The Diener" uses the word in all these ways.