cemetery

B2 Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/ UK /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #4696

Meanings

1

noun
A place where dead people are buried.

His grandparents are buried in the cemetery near the village church.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a place where dead people... graveyardburial groundmemorial park

Word family

Forms cemeteries

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

The cemetery is full of indispensable people

Simplified etymology

Cemetery comes from Greek koimētērion, meaning “dormitory,” derived from koiman, “to put to sleep.” Early Christian writers applied the word to burial grounds, particularly the underground cemeteries or catacombs of Rome.

Etymology

From Middle English cimiterie, from Old French cimitiere, from Medieval Latin cimitērium, from Late Latin coemētērium, from Ancient Greek κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), from κοιμάω (koimáō, “I put to sleep”); compare cœmeterium. Displaced Middle English charnel (“mass grave, cemetery”) and Old English līctūn (“cemetery”).

*ḱey- Proto-Indo-European cimiterie Middle English cimitiere Old French cimitērium la-med coemētērium la-lat κοιμητήριον Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# cemetery

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 4696

## Meanings
1. A place where dead people are buried.

## Examples
- His grandparents are buried in the cemetery near the village church.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ḱey-
- Root: cimiterie
- Root: cimitiere
- Root: cimitērium
- Root: coemētērium
- Root: κοιμητήριον

## Etymology
From Middle English cimiterie, from Old French cimitiere, from Medieval Latin cimitērium, from Late Latin coemētērium, from Ancient Greek κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), from κοιμάω (koimáō, “I put to sleep”); compare cœmeterium. Displaced Middle English charnel (“mass grave, cemetery”) and Old English līctūn (“cemetery”).

## AI Etymology
cemetery is an adjective and noun. It is from Middle English cimiterie, from Old French cimitiere, from Medieval Latin cimitērium, from Late Latin coemētērium, from Ancient Greek κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), from κοιμάω (koimáō, “I put to sleep”); compare cœmeterium. Displaced Middle English charnel (“mass grave, cemetery”) and Old English līctūn (“cemetery”). Historical forms in the chain include *ḱey- (Proto-Indo-European), cimiterie (Middle English), cimitiere (Old French), cimitērium (Medieval Latin), coemētērium (Late Latin), and κοιμητήριον (Ancient Greek). Current senses include a place where dead people are buried.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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