sepulchre

American  

[sep-uhl-ker] / ˈsɛp əl kər /

noun

Chiefly British.

sepulchred, sepulchring

1. sepulcher.

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sepulchre British  

/ ˈsɛpəlkə /

noun

1. a burial vault, tomb, or grave

2. 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

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verb

1. (tr) to bury in a sepulchre

Etymology

Origin of sepulchre

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

Explanation

There are many possible resting places for your body once you die, and a sepulcher is the best option if you want a fancy room made entirely from stone. Think it over, because you can only choose once. Crypts, mausoleums, sarcophagi, sepulchers: each one is a place to bury someone, with slight variations. A sepulcher (or if you’re British you’ll spell it sepulchre) is basically a stone room with a stone coffin where your body lies. The word comes from the Latin sepulcrum, which means “burial place,” for obvious reasons. Pronouncing sepulcher could trick you, because the ch actually sounds like a k: "SEP-ul-ker."

Example Sentences

In some accounts he is buried with his wife and two children next to the tomb of Jesus — the ultimate martyr’s sepulchre.

From Time • Mar. 30, 2016

It depicts a stern risen Christ on the edge of a sepulchre; the city's name means "holy sepulchre" in Italian.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2014

Maurice, meanwhile, is terrified of mouldering in respectable suburbia, dragging some poor virgin into the sepulchre with him.

From The Guardian • Jul. 5, 2013

Last week British engineers announced that the marble slabs over the sepulchre which Christendom generally accepts as the tomb of its Founder were bulging ominously.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the back of the room was a marble fireplace, big as a sepulchre, and a globed gasolier—dripping with prisms and strings of crystal beading—sparkled in the dim.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt