Epitaph
['epɪtɑːf;-tæf] or ['ɛpɪtæf]
Definition
(noun.) an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there.
(noun.) a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person.
Checker: Vernon--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.
(n.) A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: "Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis."
(v. t.) To commemorate by an epitaph.
(v. i.) To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph.
Typed by Beryl
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Inscription (on a tomb or monument).
Edited by Allison
Definition
n. a commemorative inscription on a tombstone or monument.—v.t. to write an epitaph upon.—adjs. Epitaph′ian Epitaph′ic.—n. Ep′itaphist a writer of epitaphs.
Inputed by Eleanor
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. An inscription on a tomb showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect. Following is a touching example:
Inputed by Billy
Unserious Contents or Definition
A statement that usually lies above about the one who lies beneath.
Typist: Ruth
Examples
- In the yard, was Young John making a new epitaph for himself, on the occasion of his dying of a broken heart. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- At his head it stood, silent, erect, and still--a living grave-stone, with its epitaph in blood. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- When I close my eyes I seem to see poor papa's epitaph in black letters on the white marble. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- These are the kinds of epitaphs which men pass over one another in Vanity Fair. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- What lying epitaphs they make over the corpse of love! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
Edited by Janet