Word of the Day

: February 3, 2025

sarcophagus

noun sahr-KAH-fuh-gus

What It Means

Sarcophagus refers to a coffin, and specifically a stone coffin.

// The crypt under the abbey church contains the sarcophagus of the monastery's founding abbot.

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sarcophagus in Context

"Experts found as many as 1,035 artwork fragments, as well as one hundred graves increasing the cathedral's total record to more than five hundred burials. Many of the coffins, along with scattered bones, remain unidentified. A lead sarcophagus that may belong to the poet Joachim du Bellay is among one of the more notable burials." — Francesca Aton, ARTNews, 4 Dec. 2024

Did You Know?

Body-eating coffins might sound like something out of a horror film, but flesh-eating stone? The latter plays a role in the etymology of sarcophagus; it is the literal translation of líthos sarkóphagos, the Greek phrase that underlies the English term. The phrase traveled through Latin between Greek and English, taking on the form lapis sarcophagus before being shortened to sarcophagus. It's not clear whether the ancient Romans believed that a certain type of limestone from the region around Troy would dissolve flesh (and thus was desirable for making coffins); that assertion came from Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, but he also reported such phenomena as dog-headed people and elephants who wrote Greek. Regardless, there is no doubt that the ancient Greek word for the limestone traces back to a combination of sárx, meaning "flesh," and a derivative of phagein, a verb meaning "to eat."