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churrigueresque
Mata Hari
rachmanism
mausoleum
martinet

Mausoleum

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

(photo: Udit Kulshrestha)

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

mausoleum

PRONUNCIATION:

(maw-suh-LEE-uhm, -zuh-)

MEANING:

A large tomb, usually an ornate stone building.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Mausolus, a Persian governor in 4th century BCE. His monumental tomb was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, after which any grand tomb is now called a mausoleum.
Also see columbarium.

USAGE:

"Wu is leading a delegation to attend the 80th anniversary of the burial of Sun Yat-sen at a mausoleum in Nanjing."
Flora Wang and Mo Yan-chih; Chen Chu Praised For Saying President; Taipei Times (Taiwan); May 23, 2009.

See more usage examples of mausoleum in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses. -Horace, poet and satirist (65-8 BCE)

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