Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

sepulcher

 - 3 dictionary results

sep⋅ul⋅cher

  [sep-uhl-ker]
Use sepulcher in a Sentence
–noun
1. a tomb, grave, or burial place.
2. Also called Easter sepulcher. Ecclesiastical.
a. a cavity in a mensa for containing relics of martyrs.
b. a structure or a recess in some old churches in which the Eucharist was deposited with due ceremonies on Good Friday and taken out at Easter in commemoration of Christ's entombment and Resurrection.
–verb (used with object)
3. to place in a sepulcher; bury.
Also, especially British, sepulchre.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME sepulcre < OF < L sepulcrum, equiv. to sepul- (var. stem of sepelīre to bury) + -crum n. suffix of place

Synonyms:
1. vault, mausoleum, crypt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sepulcher
sep·ul·cher   (sěp'əl-kər)   
n.  

  1. A burial vault.

  2. A receptacle for sacred relics, especially in an altar.

tr.v.   sep·ul·chered, sep·ul·cher·ing, sep·ul·chers
To place into a sepulcher; inter.

[Middle English sepulcre, from Old French, from Latin sepulcrum, sepulchrum, from sepultus, past participle of sepelīre, to bury the dead.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

sepulcher 
c.1200, "tomb, burial place," esp. the cave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem (Holy Sepulcher or Saint Sepulcher), from O.Fr. sepulcre (11c.), from L. sepulcrum "grave, tomb," from root of sepelire "to bury," originally "to perform rituals on a corpse" (cf. Skt. saparyati "honors"). No reason for the -ch- spelling. Sepulchral "gloomy" is from 1711.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see sepulcher on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way