What does sarcophagus mean?

Definitions for sarcophagus
sɑrˈkɒf ə gəs; -ˌdʒaɪ, -ˌgaɪsar·coph·a·gus

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word sarcophagus.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. sarcophagusnoun

    a stone coffin (usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions)

Wiktionary

  1. sarcophagusnoun

    A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture.

  2. sarcophagusnoun

    The cement and steel structure that encases the destroyed reactor at the power station in Chernobyl, Ukraine.

  3. Etymology: From sarcophage, from sarcophagus, from σαρκοφάγος, from σάρξ + -φάγος (< : past of φαγεῖν)

ChatGPT

  1. sarcophagus

    A sarcophagus is a stone container, often carved or decorated, that is used to hold a coffin or the body of a deceased person. They are usually associated with ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, whose important figures and nobility were often buried in sarcophagi. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek words "sarx" meaning "flesh," and "phagein" meaning "to eat," due to the early belief that these containers would decompose the body within.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Sarcophagusnoun

    a species of limestone used among the Greeks for making coffins, which was so called because it consumed within a few weeks the flesh of bodies deposited in it. It is otherwise called lapis Assius, or Assian stone, and is said to have been found at Assos, a city of Lycia

  2. Sarcophagusnoun

    a coffin or chest-shaped tomb of the kind of stone described above; hence, any stone coffin

  3. Sarcophagusnoun

    a stone shaped like a sarcophagus and placed by a grave as a memorial

  4. Etymology: [L., fr. Gr. sarkofa`gos, properly, eating flesh; sa`rx, sa`rkos, flesh + fagei^n to eat. Cf. Sarcasm.]

Wikidata

  1. Sarcophagus

    A sarcophagus is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and displayed above ground, though they may also be buried. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σάρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγεῖν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos. Since lithos is Greek for stone, lithos sarcophagos means 'flesh-eating stone'. The word also came to refer to a particular kind of limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses interred within it.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Sarcophagus

    sär-kof′a-gus, n. a kind of limestone used by the Greeks for coffins, and so called because it was thought to consume the flesh of corpses: any stone receptacle for a corpse: an 18th-century form of wine-cooler:—pl. Sarcoph′agī, Sarcoph′aguses. [L.,—Gr. sarkophagossarx, flesh, phagein, eat.]

Suggested Resources

  1. sarcophagus

    Song lyrics by sarcophagus -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by sarcophagus on the Lyrics.com website.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Sarcophagus

    A Greek compound of sarkos, flesh, and phargo, to eat. The term was originally applied to a receptacle for the dead, because the early examples were made out of a kind of limestone which was thought to possess the property of consuming a corpse in a very short time.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of sarcophagus in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of sarcophagus in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of sarcophagus in a Sentence

  1. Aiman Ashmawy Ali:

    One of the mummies had a trace of an arrow in the head, it proves he died in a conflict. Maybe that explains three mummies in one big sarcophagus.

  2. Aiman Ashmawy Ali:

    ( The) Ministry of Antiquities and the Egyptian government have procedures( for) checking any building before it is renewed or repaired, this sarcophagus was found according to regular procedures.

  3. Mathew Morris:

    A grave like this -- very elaborate stone sarcophagus, lead inner casket buried in a very prominent position in the church, close to the high altar -- you've got to think this person was important.

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Translations for sarcophagus

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"sarcophagus." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/sarcophagus>.

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