sepultura

Forms

sepultūra f (genitive sepultūrae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sepeliō (“to bury”) + -ūra, formed from the participle stem ⟨sepult-⟩.^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces sepeliō to Proto-Italic *sepel-je/o- (“to bury”) and Proto-Indo-European *sepel-ie/o- (“to honour”), and explains the participle with ⟨sepul-⟩ as analogical.^[4] Cognate with Sanskrit सपर्यति (saparyáti, “honours, worships”) and Ancient Greek ἕπω (hépō, “to take care of”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucretius speaks of the custom of burial,^[5] and Köbler's first source is Cicero.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It is the formal disposal of the dead, burial or interment, and the funeral rites;^[2][5] Lewis & Short call it frequent and classical, and Cicero thinks the oldest kind of burial is the one Xenophon describes for Cyrus.^[2][5] An inscription uses it of a place of burial,^[2] and Church Latin has burial, burial place and grave.^[7] In medieval Latin it is also the right of burial, the dues paid for a funeral, and a tomb.^[8] English sepulture (early 14th century) comes from Old French and directly from the Latin.^[3]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of the custom of burial.^[5][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of the oldest kind of burial.^[5][6]
• early 14th century – English sepulture.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Burial, interment; funeral rites.^[2][5][1]
2. A place of burial, grave.^[2][7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) The right of burial; burial dues.^[8]

Word family

• sepultūrārius

Related words

• sepeliō
• sepulcrum

Usage notes

Lewis & Short give exsequiae, fūnus and humātiō as synonyms.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill