Sarcophagus Definition
sär-kŏfə-gəs
sarcophagi, sarcophaguses
noun
Among the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, a limestone coffin or tomb, often inscribed and elaborately ornamented.
Webster's New World
Any stone coffin, esp. one on display, as in a monumental tomb.
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Sarcophagus
Noun
Singular:
sarcophagusPlural:
sarcophagi, sarcophagusesOrigin of Sarcophagus
-
From French sarcophage, from Latin sarcophagus, from Ancient Greek σαρκοφάγος (sarkophagos, “coffin of limestone", noun), so named from a supposed property of consuming the flesh of corpses laid in it, from σαρκοφάγος (sarkophagos, “flesh-eating, carnivorous"), from genitive σαρκός (sarkos) of σάρξ (sarks, “flesh, meat") + -φάγος (-phagos) (from ἔφαγον (ephagon), past of φαγεῖν (phagein, “to eat"))
From Wiktionary
Latin from Greek sarkophagos coffin from (lithos) sarkophagos limestone that consumed the flesh of corpses laid in it sarx sark- flesh -phagos -phagous
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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