sarcophagus Meaning, Definition & Usage

Sar*coph"a*gus noun

Etymology

L., fr. Gr. , properly, eating flesh; , , , flesh + to eat. Cf. Sarcasm.

Wordforms

plural L Sarcophagi E Sarcophaguses

Definitions

1. 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. Holland.
2. A coffin or chest-shaped tomb of the kind of stone described above; hence, any stone coffin.
3. A stone shaped like a sarcophagus and placed by a grave as a memorial.