Etymologically
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graveyard

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 07:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈɡɹeɪvˌjɑɹd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English grave + yard, from grave, a place of burial, and yard, an enclosure.[2][3][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A burial ground.[2][4] Etymonline dates the noun to 1683;[3] the OED's first quotation is from 1767, in P. V. Fithian's journal,[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1761 as its first known use,[6] and Dictionary.com dates it 1765–75.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its literal sense, a yard or enclosure where the dead are buried, often one beside a church.[6][7] Figuratively, a graveyard is something that puts an end to whatever enters it, such as a committee in which bills die,[6][8] or a place where old or worn-out equipment, especially cars, is kept or broken up.[6] The graveyard shift, late-night work, is recorded from about 1907 and comes from an earlier nautical term, with reference to the loneliness of work after hours;[3] the OED's first quotation is from Collier's in January 1907,[2] and Green's Dictionary of Slang notes its use for gamblers, prostitutes and other late-night "workers" too.[9] At sea the graveyard watch was the middle watch, from midnight to 4 a.m.[4] In American underworld slang of the 1920s the mouth was a graveyard, from the likeness of teeth to tombstones.[9]

Timeline

  • 1683 – a burial ground, according to Etymonline.[3]
  • 1761 – first known use in Merriam-Webster.[6]
  • 1767 – first OED quotation, in P. V. Fithian's journal.[2]
  • 1907 – graveyard shift, the late-night work shift.[2][3][9]
  • 1927 – slang, the mouth.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A piece of ground where the dead are buried; a cemetery or churchyard: The old chapel stands at the edge of a small graveyard.[6][7][4]
  2. Something that brings things to an end, or where they are lost: The committee was a graveyard for reform bills.[6][8]
  3. A place where disused or worn-out equipment is stored or broken up, especially old cars.[6]

Word family

  • graveyard shift
  • graveyard stew
  • graveyard watch

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  9. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com