epitaph

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an inscription on a grave or monument commemorating the person buried there

   The weathered epitaph named the sailor and the year he died.

2. 2
   noun

   a short statement that sums up a dead person, a finished era, or something that has failed

   The abandoned station stood as an epitaph to the failed railway scheme.

Simplified etymology

Epitaph came through Old French epitaphe and Latin from Greek epitaphion, “funeral oration.” This derives from epitaphios, “over or at a tomb,” formed from epi, “upon,” and taphos, “tomb.”

Through Old French and Latin epitaphium from Greek epitaphios, 'funeral; over a tomb,' formed from epi, 'upon,' and taphos, 'tomb.' The figurative sense extends a grave inscription to any final summary of what has ended.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary