Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Epitaph
Ep′i-taph
,Noun.
[F.
épitaphe
, L. epitaphium
a funeral oration, fr. Gr. [GREEK], orig. an adj., over or at a tomb; ἐπί
upon + [GREEK] tomb. Cf. Cenotaph
.] 1.
An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.
Hang her an
epitaph
upon her tomb. Shakespeare
2.
A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: “Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis.”
Ep′i-taph
,Verb.
T.
To commemorate by an epitaph.
[R.]
Let me be
epitaphed
the inventor of English hexameters. G. Harvey.
Ep′i-taph
,Verb.
I.
To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph.
[R.]
The common in their speeches
epitaph
upon him . . . “He lived as a wolf and died as a dog.” Bp. Hall.
Webster 1828 Edition
Epitaph
EP'ITAPH
,Noun.
1.
An inscription on a monument, in honor or memory of the dead.The epitaphs of the present day are crammed with fulsome compliments never merited.
Can you look forward to the honor of a decorated coffin, a splendid funeral, a towering monument--it may be a lying epitaph.
2.
An eulogy, in prose or verse, composed without any intent to be engraven on a monument, as that on Alexander:'Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis.'