epitaph
UK /ˈɛp.ɪˌtɑːf/ · US /ˈɛp.ɪˌtæf/ noun, verb
Forms epitaphs epitaphing epitaphed
- noun An inscription on a gravestone in memory of the deceased.
- noun A poem or other short text written in memory of a deceased person.
- verb (intransitive) To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph.
- verb (transitive) To commemorate by an epitaph.
Etymology
From Old French epitafe, from Late Latin epitaphium (“eulogy”), from Ancient Greek ἐπιτάφιος (epitáphios, “relating to a funeral”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + τάφος (táphos, “tomb”). By surface analysis epi- + -taph.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.
- noun A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: "Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis."
- verb To commemorate by an epitaph. [R.]
- verb To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph. [R.]
Etymology [F. épitaphe, L. epitaphium a funeral oration, fr. Gr. Cenotaph.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “epitaph”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details