Wiktionary

tomb

See also: Tomb and tömb

English

edit

Etymology

edit
 
Governor John R. Tanner's tomb

From Middle English tombe, toumbe, borrowed from Old French tombe, from Latin tumba from Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “a sepulchral mound, tomb, grave”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”).

The verb is from Middle English tomben.

Pronunciation

edit
  • (UK) IPA(key): /tuːm/
  • (US) IPA(key): /tum/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːm

Noun

edit

tomb (plural tombs)

  1. A small building (or "vault") for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. It may be partly or wholly in the ground (except for its entrance) in a cemetery, or it may be inside a church proper or in its crypt. Single tombs may be permanently sealed; those for families (or other groups) have doors for access whenever needed.
  2. A pit in which the dead body of a human being is deposited; a grave.
  3. One who keeps secrets.

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

edit
  • → Irish: tuama
  • → Maori: toma

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

tomb (third-person singular simple present tombs, present participle tombing, simple past and past participle tombed)

  1. (transitive) To bury.

Catalan

edit

Etymology

edit

Deverbal from tombar.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

tomb m (plural tombs)

  1. turn (change of direction)
  2. turn, twist (movement around an axis)
  3. turn (change of temperament or circumstance)
  4. walk, stroll

Derived terms

edit

Further reading

edit

Middle English

edit

Noun

edit

tomb (plural tombes)

  1. Alternative form of tombe (“tomb”)
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=tomb&oldid=81398361"