This week’s theme
Words made with combining forms

This week’s words
ombrophobe
melomania
sarcophagus

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(sar-KOF-uh-guhs)

MEANING:

noun: A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek sarco- (flesh) + -phagous (feeding on). The limestone used in their construction was believed to decompose flesh rapidly, giving rise to the name. Earliest documented use: 1601.

USAGE:

“The shop’s most expensive gift [item] ever was a Boeing jet for $35m in 1999. The most memorable have included a submarine ($20m), ... and ‘His and Hers’ mummy cases for $6,000 in 1971 ($35,000 in modern money). A mummy was unexpectedly discovered in one sarcophagus, which caused a spot of bother. A death certificate had to be issued before it could be delivered. Gift wrapping was optional.”
Hold the Myrrh -- The Neiman Marcus Catalogue; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 18, 2014.

See more usage examples of sarcophagus in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: