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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.
[Gr. a sepulcher.]
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.'

Definition 2024

Epitaph

Epitaph

See also: epitaph

German

Noun

Epitaph n ‎(genitive Epitaphs, plural Epitaphe)

  1. epitaph (inscription on a gravestone)

Declension

epitaph

epitaph

See also: Epitaph

English

Noun

epitaph ‎(plural epitaphs)

  1. An inscription on a gravestone in memory of the deceased.
  2. A poem or other short text written in memory of a deceased person.

Translations

commemorative poem or other text

Verb

epitaph ‎(third-person singular simple present epitaphs, present participle epitaphing, simple past and past participle epitaphed)

  1. (intransitive) To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph.
    • Bishop Hall
      The common in their speeches epitaph upon him […] "He lived as a wolf and died as a dog."
  2. (transitive) To commemorate by an epitaph.
    • G. Harvey
      Let me be epitaphed the inventor of English hexameters.

See also

  • eulogy – oration about the dead, often at funeral
  • obituary – published writing on the dead
  • epigraph – quote on a tombstone

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /epiˈtaːf/

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