catacomb
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English
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Catacombes_Paris_FRA_002.jpg/220px-Catacombes_Paris_FRA_002.jpg)
Etymology
[edit]From Middle English catacombe, from Old English catacumbe, catacumbas pl, from Late Latin catacumbae pl, name of the underground cemetery of St. Sebastian in Rome, of unclear origin. Perhaps a dissimilation (influenced by *cumbō (“to lie, recline”)) of Late Latin cata tumbās (literally “among the tombs”) (from Ancient Greek κατά (katá, “under”) and τύμβος (túmbos, “tomb”)).[1][2] Some sources suggest Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “drinking vessel”) as an alternative etymon, but the semantic link is unclear.[3]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkætəkuːm/, (less often) /ˈkætəkəʊm/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkætəkoʊm/, (less often) /ˈkætəkum/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
[edit]catacomb (plural catacombs)
- (often plural) An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves
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References
[edit]- ^ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “tǔmba”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 13: To–Tyrus, page 411
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “catacomb”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “catacomb, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Burial