sepulchre

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noun sep·ul·chre \ ˈse-pəl-kər \

variants: or sepulcher

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of sepulchre

1 :a place of burial :tomb

2 :a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar

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Examples of sepulchre in a Sentence

a poem describing the forgotten sepulcher of a valiant knight of the Middle Ages

Recent Examples of sepulchre from the Web

The Garden Tomb, is believed by many to be the garden and sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea, and therefore a possible site of the resurrection of Jesus.

— joe yudin, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Israel," 5 Oct. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sepulchre.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Sepulchre (also spelled sepulcher) first appeared in Middle English around the beginning of the 13th century. It was originally spelled sepulcre, a spelling taken from Anglo-French. Like many words borrowed into English from French, sepulchre has roots buried in Latin. The word arose from Latin sepulcrum, a noun derived from the verb sepelire, meaning "to bury." Sepultus, the past participle of sepelire, gave us—also by way of Anglo-French—the related noun sepulture, which is a synonym of burial and sepulchre.

Origin and Etymology of sepulchre

Middle English sepulcre, from Anglo-French, from Latin sepulcrum, sepulchrum, from sepelire to bury; akin to Greek hepein to care for, Sanskrit saparyati he honors

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First Known Use: 13th century

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