epitaph
pronunciation
How to pronounce epitaph in British English:
UK [ˈepɪtɑ:f]
How to pronounce epitaph in American English:
US [ˈepɪtæf]
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- Noun:
- an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
- a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person
Word Origin
- epitaph
- epitaph: [14] Greek táphos meant ‘tomb’, and so an oration that was epitáphios (an adjective formed with the prefix epí- ‘over’) was given ‘over the tomb’. Eventually the adjective was made into a noun, epitáphion, and this reached English via Latin epitaphium and Old French epitaphe.
- epitaph (n.)
- "inscription on a tomb or monument," mid-14c., from Old French epitaphe (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin epitaphium "funeral oration, eulogy," from Greek epitaphion "a funeral oration," noun use of neuter of epitaphios (logos) "(words) spoken on the occasion of a funeral," from epi "at, over" (see epi-) + taphos "tomb, funeral rites," from PIE root *dhembh- "to bury." Related: Epitaphial. Among the Old English equivalents was byrgelsleoð.
Example
- 1. It is too early to write private equity 's epitaph .
- 2. It was in many ways the epitaph for the keynesian era .
- 3. The epitaph of the emperor of maladies has not been written quite yet , but his all-conquering domain is in perceptible retreat .
- 4. But a more accurate epitaph would be something along the lines that europe 's most ambitious project met its end for the avoidance of moral hazard .
- 5. Andrew carnegie wrote an epitaph declaring himself to be " a man who knew how to enlist in his service better men than himself " .