epitaph

ep·i·taph

noun \ˈe-pə-ˌtaf\

Definition of EPITAPH

1

: an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there

2

: a brief statement commemorating or epitomizing a deceased person or something past

— ep·i·taph·ial \ˌe-pə-ˈta-fē-əl\ adjective

— ep·i·taph·ic \-ˈta-fik\ adjective

Examples of EPITAPH

1. The epitaph reads “In loving memory of John Gray: husband, father, soldier.”

Origin of EPITAPH

Middle English epitaphe, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin epitaphium, from Latin, funeral oration, from Greek epitaphion, from epi- + taphos tomb, funeral

First Known Use: 14th century

Rhymes with EPITAPH

allograph, autograph, barograph, bathyscaphe, cenotaph, chronograph, circle graph, cryptograph, epigraph, half-and-half, hectograph, holograph, homograph, hygrograph, kymograph, lithograph, logograph, micrograph, monograph, pantograph, paragraph, phonograph, photograph, pictograph, polygraph, quarterstaff, seismograph, serigraph, shadowgraph, shandygaff, spectrograph, sphygmograph, telegraph, thermograph, typograph

epitaph

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Inscription in verse or prose on a tomb, or, by extension, anything written as if to be inscribed on a tomb. Probably the earliest surviving epitaphs are those written on ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and coffins. Ancient Greek examples are often of literary interest. In Elizabethan times epitaphs began to assume a more literary character. Many of the best known are literary memorials (often deliberately witty) not intended for a tomb.