tomb
pronunciation
How to pronounce tomb in British English:
UK [tuːm]
How to pronounce tomb in American English:
US [tuːm]
-
- Noun:
- a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)
Word Origin
- tomb (n.)
- c. 1200, tumbe, early 14c. tomb, from Anglo-French tumbe and directly from Old French tombe "tomb, monument, tombstone" (12c.), from Late Latin tumba (also source of Italian tomba, Spanish tumba), from Greek tymbos "burial mound, cairn," generally "grave, tomb," perhaps from PIE root *teue- (2) "to swell" (see thigh). The final -b began to be silent about the time of the spelling shift (compare lamb, dumb). Modern French tombeau is from Vulgar Latin diminutive *tumbellus. The Tombs, slang for "New York City prison" is recorded from 1840.
Example
- 1. The second time I approached tomb was quite accidental .
- 2. The first time I saw tomb was about 5 .
- 3. The so-called tomb is no more than a triangle-shaped hill .
- 4. I 'd rather address the tomb as a historic witness than a nameless destination .
- 5. But when I 'm dead , I get only 20 years for my tomb .