cemetery
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɹi//
- United Kingdom//ˈsɛm.əˌtɹi//
- United States//ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i//
- United States//ˈsɛm.əˌtɛɹ.i//
- New Zealand//ˈsem.ɘˌtʃɹi//
A place where the dead are buried; a graveyard or memorial park.
noun
- 1
A place where the dead are buried; a graveyard or memorial park.
The plain around was interspersed with cemeteries, Turk, Greek, and Armenian, with their growth of cypress trees...
They were probably the work of individual craftsmen working to meet the chieftains' needs. Their place in the chronology of the big cemeteries is indicated by the less richly-decorated double-springed bronze brooches which are found here.
[…] the cemetery – which people of shattering wit like Sampson never tired of calling ‘the dead centre of town’ […]
Etymology
From Middle English cimiterie, from Old French cimitiere, from Medieval Latin cimitērium, from Late Latin coemētērium, from Ancient Greek κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), from κοιμάω (koimáō, “I put to sleep”); compare cœmeterium. Displaced Middle English charnel (“mass grave, cemetery”) and Old English līctūn (“cemetery”).
Forms
- plural
- cemeteries
cemetery · A place where the dead are buried; a graveyard or memorial park.
censorship · The use of state or group power to control freedom of…cent · A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit…center · The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant…