tomb English · revision 15230

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=grc τύμβος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tuːm/ ''(UK)''; /tum/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|tumbe]], [[bor|xno|tumbe]] (Old French [[m|fro|tombe|t=tomb, monument]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|tumba|t=burial mound]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[grc|τύμβος|tr=túmbos|t=mound, burial mound, tomb]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Watkins suggests the root [[ine-pro|*tewh₂-|t=to swell]] (compare [[thumb]]),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) but Beekes considers it probably a Pre-Greek word, perhaps also in [[la|tumulus]] and [[xcl|թումբ|tr=tʻumb]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A place of burial or a monument over it: about 1200 in Etymonline, probably before 1200 (tumbe) in Layamon's ''Brut'' in Barnhart; the OED's first quotation is from about 1275.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The spelling tomb is from the early 14th century (before 1325, in ''Cursor Mundi'').^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The spelling tomb never exactly matched the spoken word, and the ''b'' became silent about the time of the spelling change, as in [[lamb]] and [[dumb]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A monument over a burial is from about 1290.^(OED 1989) The tomb as a figure for death or the end of earthly life is from the 1550s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, to put in a tomb, is from about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The Tombs, slang for a New York City prison, is from 1840.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Tombstone is from 1565.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – tumbe.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1290 – a monument.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1325 – the spelling tomb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – figurative, death.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1565 – tombstone.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[grave]] or place of burial, especially a [[vault]] or chamber for the dead.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[monument]] in memory of the dead.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The tomb: ''(poetic)'' death.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(rare)'' To place in a tomb; to [[entomb]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tombless]]

+ * [[tombal]]

+ * [[tomblike]]

+ * [[disentomb]]

+ * [[entomb]]

+ * [[tombstone]]

+ * [[beehive tomb]]

+ * [[chamber tomb]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tumulus]]

+ * [[thumb]]

+ * [[tumour]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Modern French [[m|fr|tombeau]] is from a Vulgar Latin diminutive [[m|la-vul|*tumbellus]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}