sarcophagus
sarcophagus Lexical Profile
sarcophagus Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece.
"The museum's centerpiece is an intricately carved marble sarcophagus dating back to the second century."
A massive concrete and steel containment structure built around a damaged nuclear reactor to prevent the escape of radiation.
"Engineers designed a new protective arch to enclose the aging concrete sarcophagus over the reactor."
Word Nuance & Usage
Both the Latinate plural "sarcophagi" and the anglicized "sarcophaguses" are standard in English, though "sarcophagi" is preferred in academic and archaeological contexts.
• Rhymes for sarcophagus
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sarcophagus, from Ancient Greek sarkophagos (literally "flesh-eating"), from sarx ("flesh") and phagein ("to eat"), originally referring to a type of limestone believed by the ancients to rapidly decompose bodies placed within it.