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 in Latin. In Latin, "sepulchre" is "sepulcrum," a noun that is derived from the verb "sepelire," which means "to bury." "Sepultus," the past participle of "sepelire," gives us -- also by way of Anglo-French -- the related noun "sepulture," which is a synonym for "burial" and "sepulchre."