exhume

[ ig-zoom, -zyoom, eks-hyoom ]

/ ɪgˈzum, -ˈzyum, ɛksˈhyum /

verb (used with object), ex·humed, ex·hum·ing.

to dig (something buried, especially a dead body) out of the earth; disinter.

to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting; bring to light: to exhume a literary reputation; to exhume old letters.

Nearby words

Origin of exhume

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin exhumāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex-¹ + humāre to inter

Related formsex·hu·ma·tion

[eks-hyoo-mey-shuh n] /ˌɛks hyʊˈmeɪ ʃən/, nounex·hum·er, nounun·ex·humed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exhumation

There are plenty more candidates for exhumation, too, if we fancy it.
Scientists Exhume the Heart of Richard the Lionheart|Dan Jones|March 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Vatican agreed last month to finally settle the issue by granting the Italian police permission for the exhumation.
Italian Police Open a Mobster’s Vatican-Owned Tomb in Search of a Missing Girl|Barbie Latza Nadeau|May 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
His remains were buried in a family plot in Bavaria until their exhumation Wednesday.
Neo-Nazi Hero Taken From Grave|Eve Conant|July 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
That was before an exhumation team found his mother's remains and was finally able to identify them just this past summer.
Survivor of the Genocide|Lauren Comiteau|March 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST

However, there had been comedy and absurdity also, perhaps rather more fit for exhumation now than those deeper moments.
Sinister Street, vol. 2|Compton Mackenzie
In 1793, at the exhumation of the bodies buried at the Abbey of St. Denis, rings were found in several of the royal tombs.
Finger-Ring Lore|William Jones
The question of the exhumation of the body appears to be involved in legal technicalities as to the ownership of the vault.
The Portland Peerage Romance|Charles J. Archard
She—and I—only heard of the exhumation several days after it had taken place.
My Memoirs|Marguerite Steinheil
A hard task, this exhumation by dint of the blows of a cleft and palpitating head.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for exhumation

exhume

/ (ɛksˈhjuːm) /

verb (tr)

to dig up (something buried, esp a corpse); disinter

to reveal; disclose; unearthdon't exhume that old argument

Derived Formsexhumation (ˌɛkshjʊˈmeɪʃən), nounexhumer, noun

Word Origin for exhume

C18: from Medieval Latin exhumāre, from Latin ex- 1 + humāre to bury, from humus the ground

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exhumation

exhumation

early 15c., from Medieval Latin exhumationem (nominative exhumatio), noun of action from past participle stem of exhumare (see exhume).

exhume

early 15c., from Medieval Latin exhumare "to unearth" (13c.), from Latin ex- "out of" (see ex-) + humare "bury," from humus "earth" (see chthonic). An alternative form was exhumate (1540s), taken directly from Medieval Latin. Related: Exhumed; exhuming.