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epitaph - 6 dictionary results

ep⋅i⋅taph

  [ep-i-taf, -tahf]
Use epitaph in a Sentence
–noun
1. a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
2. a brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person.
–verb (used with object)
3. to commemorate in or with an epitaph.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME epitaphe < L epitaphium < Gk epitáphion over or at a tomb, equiv. to epi- epi- + táph(os) tomb + -ion n., adj. suffix

Related forms:
ep⋅i⋅taph⋅ic  [ep-i-taf-ik] , adjective
ep⋅i⋅taph⋅ist, noun
ep⋅i⋅taph⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To epitaph
ep·i·taph   (ěp'ĭ-tāf')   
n.  
  1. An inscription on a tombstone in memory of the one buried there.
  2. A brief literary piece commemorating a deceased person.

[Middle English, from Old French epitaphe, from Latin epitaphium, from Greek epitaphion, from neuter of epitaphios, funerary : epi-, epi- + taphos, tomb.]
ep'i·taph'ic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Epitaph

Ep"i*taph\, n. [F. ['e]pitaphe, L. epitaphium a funeral oration, fr. Gr. ?, orig. an adj., over or at a tomb; 'epi` upon + ? tomb. Cf. Cenotaph.]

1. An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.

Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb. --Shak.

2. A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: "Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis."

Epitaph

Ep"i*taph\, v. t. To commemorate by an epitaph. [R.]

Let me be epitaphed the inventor of English hexameters. --G. Harvey.

Epitaph

Ep"i*taph\, v. i. To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph. [R.]

The common in their speeches epitaph upon him . . . "He lived as a wolf and died as a dog." --Bp. Hall.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : epitaph
Spanish: epitafio,
German: die Grabschrift,
Japanese: 墓碑銘
More Translations »

epitaph 
1387, from O.Fr. epitaphe, from L. epitaphium "funeral oration, eulogy," from Gk. epitaphion, neut. of epitaphos "of a funeral," from epi- "at, over" + taphos "tomb, funeral rites."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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