cemetery

Definition

A place where the dead are buried; a graveyard or memorial park.

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”).

Example Sentences

• "The plain around was interspersed with cemeteries, Turk, Greek, and Armenian, with their growth of cypress trees..."
• "They were probably the work of individual craftsmen working to meet the chieftains' needs. Their place in the chronology of the big cemeteries is indicated by the less richly-decorated double-springed bronze brooches which are found here."
• "[…] the cemetery – which people of shattering wit like Sampson never tired of calling ‘the dead centre of town’ […]"

Related Words