sepulcher

[ sep-uhl-ker ]

noun

1. a tomb, grave, or burial place.

   Synonyms: crypt, mausoleum, vault

2. Also called Easter sepulcher. Ecclesiastical.
   1. a cavity in a mensa for containing relics of martyrs.
   2. a structure or a recess in some old churches in which the Eucharist was deposited with due ceremonies on Good Friday and taken out at Easter in commemoration of Christ's entombment and Resurrection.

verb (used with object)

1. to place in a sepulcher; bury.

Other Words From

• un·sepul·cher verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sepulcher¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English sepulcre, from Old French, from Latin sepulcrum, equivalent to sepul- (variant stem of sepelīre “to bury”) + -crum noun suffix of place

Example Sentences

Its name translates to “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher,” but locally it is called by a nickname that means “a place of fear.”

From The Daily Beast

Michael Lewis is out with his newest book on the whited sepulcher that is Wall Street.

From The Daily Beast

Arrived in the valley of Josaphat, the body was gently placed in a sepulcher of stone not far from the Garden of Olives.

From Project Gutenberg

No Crusader ever fought for the Sepulcher with more heroism than many a poverty-stricken laborer to support himself and family.

From Project Gutenberg

She thought of thirty as a sort of sepulcher, an end of all things!

From Project Gutenberg

Others ran to the sepulcher and found it even as the women had said.

From Project Gutenberg

How Horace Endicott had raved over this whited sepulcher five years ago, believed in her, sworn by her virtue and truth!

From Project Gutenberg