sepulcher

American  

[sep-uhl-ker] / ˈsɛp əl kər /

especially British, sepulchre

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to place in a sepulcher; bury.

Other Word Forms

• unsepulcher verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of sepulcher

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

On the altar is a painting of Christ rising from the sepulcher in his burial wraps.

From Los Angeles Times

After an explosive scherzo, Vogt’s chords introducing the slow movement evoked sepulcher doors swinging open to reveal the ghastly inroads of decay inside.

From Washington Post

He suspects that any surviving statuary was simply pushed deeper into the sepulcher, then entombed, creating a modern-day Pompeii.

From Washington Post

One observer at Fort Union, in what is now North Dakota, wrote: “The prairie has become a graveyard. Its wildflowers bloom over the sepulchers of Indians.”

From New York Times

“Among the hundreds of ancient sepulchers unearthed since 2001, they have discovered a series of vaulted burial chambers made of tuff, a volcanic stone found in the area,” explained the CNRS, in a statement.

From Fox News