Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An inscription on a tombstone in memory of the one buried there.
- noun A brief literary piece commemorating a deceased person.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To commemorate in an epitaph.
- To make epitaphs; use the epitaphic style.
- noun An inscription on a tomb or monument in honor or memory of the dead.
- noun A brief enunciation or sentiment relating to a deceased person, in prose or verse, composed as if to be inscribed on a monument.
- noun One of the most pleasing epitaphs in general literature is that by Pope on Gay:
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.
- noun A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: “Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis.”
- transitive verb rare To commemorate by an epitaph.
- intransitive verb rare To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
inscription on agravestone in memory of thedeceased . - noun A
poem or other short text written in memory of a deceased person. - verb To
write orspeak after the manner of an epitaph.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person
- noun an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And her epitaph is delivered by Ben, who says without any hint of irony, “I guess the island was done with her.”
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An epitaph is the inscription found on a tombstone that summarizes and memorializes the deceased.
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Author Nigel Rees brings to bear upon the strange and sometimes surprising world of the epitaph his formidable skills as an ‘archaeologist’ of the sources of quotation and phrases: each epitaph is explained and located, and its source and context described as fully as possible.
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Author Nigel Rees brings to bear upon the strange and sometimes surprising world of the epitaph his formidable skills as an ‘archaeologist’ of the sources of quotation and phrases: each epitaph is explained and located, and its source and context described as fully as possible.
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Palfrey and Hedge read Parker's Latin epitaph on Chev, amazed at the bad Latinity.
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The simplicity of this scene recalls the epitaph which is said to have been written in honor of
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a month after this great deliverance, the champion expired; and his most splendid epitaph is the regret of the Ottoman prince, who sighed that he could no longer hope for revenge against the single antagonist who had triumphed over his arms.
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An epitaph is on a gravestone, and while I am sure they would be happy to oblige, that wasn’t what they were actually throwing, I don’t think ….
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Ernest Hemingway once became known for writing a six word epitaph:
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I copy down the name and epitaph and next to it I write “ghost?”
treeseed commented on the word epitaph
Epitaph to a Dog is a poem by the English poet Lord Byron. It was written in 1808 in honor of his Newfoundland dog, Boatswain, who had just died of rabies. Check it out..it's beautiful.
February 3, 2008
lea commented on the word epitaph
Good idea, Treeseed. I'll do that. -- However, my own personal choice in case of possible death would be: "Screw you guys, I'm going home!"
March 3, 2009
seanahan commented on the word epitaph
The saddest article I've ever read is this article about a Sports columnist's recently deceased dog. For those who aren't into sports, this article transcends sports writing.
March 5, 2009
frindley commented on the word epitaph
See dyer.
March 20, 2009
frindley commented on the word epitaph
Oh seanahan, that article nearly made me cry.
March 20, 2009
lea commented on the word epitaph
Bloody hell! Thank you, seanahan, for making me cry. :o} I've done laugh-related crying lately with animals more or less, but that story was really a trigger. Boo hoo.
March 20, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word epitaph
It is a very good article indeed. Rather surprisingly, at least to me, it did not make me cry. (Perhaps because I recently went through a similar situation.)
I remember the vet telling us, the first time she was diagnosed, he wouldn't give us a range of how long he thought she'd live. I persisted, "Well, a month? A year? Somewhere in between?" He said, "Maybe a year. I can tell you whatever number you want, but I can promise you only one thing: Whatever I say, she'll make a liar out of me."
She did. She lived for two more years. :)
March 20, 2009
reesetee commented on the word epitaph
A toast to good, brave doggies everywhere. :-)
*raises glass*
March 20, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word epitaph
*raises glass*
March 20, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word epitaph
(Piazza, New York catcher, by Belle and Sebastian)
March 8, 2010
oroboros commented on the word epitaph
Epitaph for a dentist: Don't intrude on the Good Dentist, he's busy filling a cavity.
September 10, 2010