sepulchre

[ sep-uh l-ker ]

/ ˈsɛp əl kər /

noun, verb (used with object), sep·ul·chred, sep·ul·chring. Chiefly British.

sepulcher.

Nearby words

septuple, septuplet, septuplicate, sepulcher, sepulchral, sepulchre, sepulture, seq., seq. luce, seqq., sequacious

Definition for sepulchre (2 of 2)

sepulcher

[ sep-uhl-ker ]

/ ˈsɛp əl kər /

noun

a tomb, grave, or burial place.

Also called Easter sepulcher. Ecclesiastical.

a cavity in a mensa for containing relics of martyrs.
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)

to place in a sepulcher; bury.

Also especially British, sep·ul·chre.

Origin of sepulcher

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

SYNONYMS FOR sepulcher

1 vault, mausoleum, crypt.

Related forms

un·sep·ul·cher, verb (used with object)

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

Examples from the Web for sepulchre

I send you a sketch that I made on the spot of Gordons sepulchre, to show you the universal plan of these burial-places.
Letters from the Holy Land|Elizabeth Butler
Who could ever have imagined anything like that sort of sepulchre in the midst of Paris!
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo
From this narrative it would seem that, for one night, the sepulchre was unsealed and unguarded.
The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels|J. B. Atwater
Of course we should only sleep in the sepulchre—a good lamp would give all the light required.
James Geikie|Marion I. Newbigin

No Cabinet will be anxious to draw them from the sepulchre of its archives.
History of Modern Europe 1972-1878|C. A. Fyffe

British Dictionary definitions for sepulchre

sepulchre

US sepulcher

/ (ˈsɛpəlkə) /

noun

a burial vault, tomb, or grave

Also called: Easter sepulchre a separate alcove in some medieval churches in which the Eucharistic elements were kept from Good Friday until the Easter ceremonies

verb

(tr) to bury in a sepulchre

Word Origin for sepulchre

C12: from Old French sépulcre, from Latin sepulcrum, from sepelīre to bury

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