Where does “cenotaph” come from?
Cenotaph comes from French cénotaphe, from Ancient Greek τάφος meaning "tomb," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱen- meaning "to hollow out or dig."
cenotaph (English): A monument, especially in the form of an empty...
Definitions
- A monument, especially in the form of an empty...
Ancestry of “cenotaph”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | cénotaphe | cenotaph |
| 2 | Latin | cenotaphium | empty tomb, cenotaph |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | κενοτάφιον | cenotaph, empty tomb |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | τάφος | funeral rites, burial, funeral, wake; tomb,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ός | Forms agentive or patientive adjectives and nouns from the o-grade of a verbal root |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | *-os | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ós | Creates agent nouns from verb stems, denoting... |