Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cemetery |
CemeteryNoun1. A tract of land used for burials. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "cemetery" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Etymology: Cemetery \Cem"e*ter*y\, noun; plural Cemeteries. [Latin expression cemeterium, Greek sleeping chamber, burial place, from to put to sleep.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | CEMETERY, n. An isolated suburban spot where mourners match lies, poets write at a target and stone-cutters spell for a wager. The inscriptions following will serve to illustrate the success attained in these Olympian games: His virtues were so conspicuous that his enemies, unable to overlook them, denied them, and his friends, to whose loose lives they were a rebuke, represented them as vices. They are here commemorated by his family, who shared them. In the earth we here prepare a Place to lay our little Clara. Thomas M. and Mary Frazer P.S. -- Gabriel will raise her. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
19th Century Satire | The one place where princes and paupers, porters and presidents are finally on the dead level. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of being in a beautiful and well-kept cemetery, you will have unexpected news of the recovery of one whom you had mourned as dead, and you will have your title good to lands occupied by usurpers. To see an old bramble grown and forgotten cemetery, you will live to see all your loved ones leave you, and you will be left to a stranger's care. For young people to dream of wandering through the silent avenues of the dead foreshows they will meet with tender and loving responses from friends, but will have to meet sorrows that friends are powerless to avert. Brides dreaming of passing a cemetery on their way to the wedding ceremony, will be bereft of their husbands by fatal accidents occurring on journeys. For a mother to carry fresh flowers to a cemetery, indicates she may expect the continued good health of her family. For a young widow to visit a cemetery means she will soon throw aside her weeds for robes of matrimony. If she feels sad and depressed she will have new cares and regrets. Old people dreaming of a cemetery, shows they will soon make other journeys where they will find perfect rest. To see little children gathering flowers and chasing butterflies among the graves, denotes prosperous changes and no graves of any of your friends to weep over. Good health will hold high carnival. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Literature | Cemetery properly means a sleeping-place. The Jews used to speak of death as sleep. The Persians call their cemeteries "The Cities of the Silent." The Greeks thought it unlucky to pronounce the name of Death. (Greek, ?????????????). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Green-Wood Cemetery
Brooklyn, New YorkA cemetery is a place (usually an enclosed area) to which dead bodies are brought (usually with hearses) and buried. A cemetery is normally used for human burials but in recent times special cemeteries have been created for the bodies of such animals as dogs, cats and horses.
A cemetery is a place where the ceremonials of death are observed, with different rites and practices across cultures and religions. It is usually a respected area. It often includes churches, other religious buildings or a crematorium for the burning of the dead. In a crematorium the body of the deceased is reduced to ashes, which are then either scattered across the ground or kept in a casket by the relatives.
The violation of the graves or buildings is usually considered a very serious crime and punishments are often severe.
Cemeteries in ancient ages
Many places have been found where ancient people buried their dead. These places could be an organised necropolis or they could be simple areas with highly symbolic elements around (like the Tomb of Giants in Sardinia). The Egyptian pyramids were tombs.
Cemeteries for pets
Please, list and describe
Cemeteries and superstition
In many countries, cemeteries are objects of superstition and legend; they are sometimes used (usually at night-time) for black magic ceremonies or similar clandestine happenings. In Haiti the traditional belief regarding zombies as practiced under Voudun religion is connected with burial rituals. It is believed that the zombified individual is buried alive in a coffin in a shallow grave after being given a dosage of tetrodotoxin from the puffer fish to slow his heart so he appears dead even to medical practitioners. After all the burial ceremonies are completed the zombie victim is then dug up and taken into servitude, usually as a punishment for some crime he committed. Some Haitians deny that these practices exist and that these kinds of voodoo practices are pure superstition.
Elephants' cemeteries
Elder elephants instinctively leave their group when they reach a certain age, and direct themselves toward a special area. They will die there alone, far from the group.
External link
See also: List of famous cemeteries, tomb, Cadaver tomb, American veteran cemetery, Cremation
- Comprehensive London Cemetery Project: 102 cemeteries with high quality photos.
A cemetery in rural Spain, with marble headstones.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cemetery."
Synonyms: CemeterySynonyms: burial ground (n), burial site (n), burying ground (n), graveyard (n), memorial park (n), necropolis (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Interment | Grave, pit, sepulcher, tomb, vault, crypt, catacomb, mausoleum, Golgotha, house of death, narrow house; cemetery, necropolis; burial place, burial ground; grave yard, church yard; God's acre; tope, cromlech, barrow, tumulus, cairn; ossuary; bone house, charnel house, dead house; morgue; lich gate; burning ghat; crematorium, crematory; dokhma, mastaba, potter's field, stupa, Tower of Silence. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Cemetery |
| English words defined with "cemetery": Cemeterial, Cemeteries, Charnel house ♦ Gettysburg, Gettysburg Address ♦ hearse ♦ potter's field. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "cemetery": CEMETERY WORKER ♦ emergency burial ♦ GHOUL, Grace Hopper, GRAY ♦ janitor, church ♦ LACHAISE, Lichten ♦ Macaber, MANAGER, CEMETERY, Miracles, Misnomers ♦ Patrick's Monument ♦ Relics, ROMEO ♦ SANDBLASTER, STONE, superintendent, cemetery, SUPERVISOR, CEMETERY WORKERS ♦ temporary cemetery ♦ Virgins. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery. (Double Indemnity; writing credit: James M. Cain; Billy Wilder) You're going to the cemetery with your toothbrush (The Birdcage; writing credit: Jean Poiret; Francis Veber) Today we're going to turn a government building into a cemetery. (24; writing credit: Mark Clompus; Marvin Close) Like the cemetery it's built on. But we call our Eastside teams 'Ghosts,' don't we (Lean on Me; writing credit: Michael Schiffer) That's cemetery talk (Brute Force; writing credit: Richard Brooks; Robert Patterson) | |
Lyrics | A cemetery where I marry the sea (Otherside; performing artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers) | |
Clever | Typhoon Rips through Cemetery, Hundreds Dead (references; author: unknown) Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift? (references; author: unknown) It is hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial cost and blamed it on the cost of living. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | U.S. National Cemetery (1901) Canton [Ohio] McKinley's Funeral Entering Westlawn Cemetery (1901) The Cemetery Club (1993) Cemetery High (1989) Northville Cemetery Massacre (1976) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Cemetery vases, mosquito breeding site. St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Credit: CDC. |  | The cemetery at Nome. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | A view of Charlestown from the cemetery on Copp's Hill in Boston. Bunker Hill Monument on Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill further to the north are seen in the central part of the image. Buildings of the U.S. Navy Yard are seen on the extreme right. In: Historical Collections ... of Every Town in Massachusetts. 1841. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | A whaler's cemetery on Deception Island. 62 57 S Latitude 60 38 W Longitude. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | The watershed at Quivett Creek also features a beautiful old cemetery and a pond that is used by anadromous alewives for spawning and juvenile rearing habitat. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |  | The Air Force honored 2nd Lt. Richard Van de Geer with a full-honors funeral Oct. 27, at Arlington National Cemetery. Van de Geer died when the CH-53 helicopter he was co-piloting was shot down approaching Ko Tang Island, Cambodia, during the USS Mayaquez. |
 | Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Jim Finch stands before the casket of Medal of Honor recipient John L. Levitow, Nov. 17, at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington. Levitow died Nov. 8 at his home in Connecticut after a lengthy battle with cancer. (Pho. |  | Cemetery at Canyon Creek Stage StationOregon TrailLower Snake River District. Credit: W. Meyer. |
 | Old Post Cemetery. Credit: Merv Coleman. |  | Albert Day and L.T. Oldroyd at Bethel Cemetery. Credit: Alaska Historical Image Library. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "St. Louis Cemetery" by Nicole Morse Commentary: "A view down a row of masoleums in the St. Louis Cemetery in the French Quarter, New Orleans." | "Sydney cemetery" by Stuart Creegan Commentary: "Cemetery overlooking the ocean in sydney australia." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Henry Ward Beecher | Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends. |
| Keep a fair-sized cemetery in your back yard, in which to bury the faults of your friends. | |
John Paul II | The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn. |
Prime Minister Harold Wilson | He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | And so Fantine was buried in the common grave of the cemetery, which is for everybody and for all, and in which the poor are lost |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Civil Liberties | United Arab Emirates | There is a Baha'i cemetery in Abu Dhabi Emirate. (references) |
Cuba | Police only allowed immediate family members to enter the cemetery for the burial ceremony. (references) | |
Poland | The existence of the school complicated the issue of returning the cemetery to the Jewish community. (references) | |
Economic History | Luxembourg | George S. Patton, are buried at the American Military Cemetery near the capital. (references) |
Human Rights | Argentina | Santillan was shot in the head while visiting a cemetery near the roadblocks. (references) |
Croatia | In the spring, ICTY investigators exhumed 380 bodies from a cemetery in Knin. (references) | |
Minorities | Greece | In April vandals desecrated the Jewish cemetery of Trikala. (references) |
Croatia | In September six Muslim tombstones in the old cemetery in Osijek were damaged. (references) | |
Poland | In February 16 tombstones were knocked down in the Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sudan | However, the Government was trying to take over the unused part of a Christian cemetery in Khartoum in order to build shops; the dispute remained unresolved at year's end. (references) |
Travel | Chad | The Centre d'Apprentissage Manuel Feminin (CTIMAF) behind the Farcha Cemetery sells handmade textile items. (references) |
Worker Rights | Mauritania | For example, in some groups, individuals of a higher caste who seek to marry someone of a lower caste may be barred by their families or by the community, and in Soninke communities members of the slave caste cannot be buried in the same cemetery as other castes. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | GHOUL, n. A demon addicted to the reprehensible habit of devouring the dead. The existence of ghouls has been disputed by that class of controversialists who are more concerned to deprive the world of comforting beliefs than to give it anything good in their place. In 1640 Father Secchi saw one in a cemetery near Florence and frightened it away with the sign of the cross. He describes it as gifted with many heads an an uncommon allowance of limbs, and he saw it in more than one place at a time. The good man was coming away from dinner at the time and explains that if he had not been "heavy with eating" he would have seized the demon at all hazards. Atholston relates that a ghoul was caught by some sturdy peasants in a churchyard at Sudbury and ducked in a horsepond. (He appears to think that so distinguished a criminal should have been ducked in a tank of rosewater.) The water turned at once to blood "and so contynues unto ys daye." The pond has since been bled with a ditch. As late as the beginning of the fourteenth century a ghoul was cornered in the crypt of the cathedral at Amiens and the whole population surrounded the place. Twenty armed men with a priest at their head, bearing a crucifix, entered and captured the ghoul, which, thinking to escape by the stratagem, had transformed itself to the semblance of a well known citizen, but was nevertheless hanged, drawn and quartered in the midst of hideous popular orgies. The citizen whose shape the demon had assumed was so affected by the sinister occurrence that he never again showed himself in Amiens and his fate remains a mystery. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Donald Rumsfeld | Well, I don't know, but you've got very limited space at Arlington Cemetery. There are a set of rules that the Congress and the department have worked out over years that are assumed to be fair and reasonable. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Cemetery" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 87.19% of the time. "Cemetery" is used about 717 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 87.19% | 625 | 10,366 |
| Noun (proper) | 12.81% | 92 | 34,282 |
| Total | 100.00% | 717 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "cemetery": military cemetery ♦ radioactive cemetery ♦ temporary cemetery. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "cemetery"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | begraafplek (God's, God's acre, graveyard), begraafplaas (God's, God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Albanian | varrezë (burial ground, burial place, churchyard, graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Arabic | مقبرة (burial ground, graveyard), مدفن (graveyard, vault), جبانة (cowardice, graveyard, pusillanimity, sepulchre, timidity). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | гробище (graveyard). (various references) | |
Catalan | cementiri (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Chinese | 公墓 (Cemeteries), 墓地 . (various references) | |
Czech | hřbitov (burial ground, churchyard, graveyard). (various references) | |
Danish | kirkegård (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Dutch | kerkhof (God's acre, graveyard), begraafplaats (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Esperanto | tombejo (graveyard). (various references) | |
Farsi | قبرستان (Graveyard), گورستان , ارامگاه (Tomb). (various references) | |
Finnish | hautausmaa (burial-ground). (various references) | |
French | cimetière. (various references) | |
Frisian | tsjerkhôf (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
German | friedhof (cementery, churchyard, God's acre, graveyard, memorial park), Gottesacker (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Greek | νεκροταφείο (churchyard, grave yard, graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Hebrew | בית קברות (graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Hungarian | temető (churchyard, god's acre, graveyard, hallowed ground, necropolis). (various references) | |
Indonesian | pekuburan (graveyard), kuburan (entombment, grave, tomb). (various references) | |
Irish | cill (cell, God's acre, graveyard), reilig (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Italian | cimitero (churchyard, God's acre, graveyard), camposanto (cementery, churchyard, God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 霊園. (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | まいそうち (burial place, graveyard), ぼち (graveyard), れいえん, らんとうば, はかば (graveyard), はかち (graveyard). (various references) | |
Korean | 묘지 (Cemeteries). (various references) | |
Manx | ruillick [f] (burial-ground, churchyard, graveyard), ruillick (burial-ground, churchyard, graveyard). (various references) | |
Norwegian | kirkegård (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Papiamen | santana (God's acre, graveyard), graf (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | emeterycay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | cemitério (burial ground, God's acre, graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Romanian | cimitir (burial ground, churchyard, god's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Russian | кладбище (burial-ground, churchyard, god's acre, God's-acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | groblje (churchyard, god's acre, graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Spanish | cementerio (burial ground, churchyard, God's acre, graveyard), campo santo (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Sranan | berpe (God's acre, graveyard), beripe (God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Swedish | kyrkogård (churchyard, church-yard, God's acre, graveyard). (various references) | |
Thai | สุสาน (mausoleum, necropolis). (various references) | |
Turkish | mezarlik (God's acre, graveyard), mezarlık (boneyard, burial ground, god's acre, good's acre, graveyard, necropolis), kabristan (burial ground, graveyard, necropolis), şehitlik (baptism of blood, death in battle, martyrdom, patriotic death, war grave). (various references) | |
Turkmen | цwlьяa, mazarзylyk. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | цвинтар (burial ground, churchyard, graveyard), кладовище (churchyard, necropolis, yard). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | nghĩa trang (burial-ground, burying-ground), nghĩa địa (burial-ground, god's acre, graveyard, necropolis). (various references) | |
Welsh | claddfa (burial ground). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | koimeterion. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | capulus, cimeterium. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | cimetiere. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Cemetery" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Camataru, cematery, cemetary, cemetory, cemetry, cimitero, sematary, semetery. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "cemetery" (pronounced se"mute'rē) |
| 6 | -m u t e' r ē | cometary. |
| 5 | -u t e' r ē | budgetary, depositary, dietary, dignitary, hereditary, interplanetary, military, monetary, nonmilitary, paramilitary, pituitary, planetary, proprietary, salutary, sanitary, secretary, solitary, tributary, undersecretary, unitary, unsanitary. |
| 4 | -t e' r ē | commentary, dysentery, fragmentary, involuntary, momentary, monastery, sedentary. |
| 3 | -e' r ē | actuary, adversary, ancillary, apothecary, arbitrary, aviary, beneficiary, bicentenary, Blackberry, blueberry, capillary, cardiopulmonary, Cassowary, cautionary, centenary, commissary, concessionary, confectionary, confectionery, Constabulary, contemporary, corollary, coronary, counterrevolutionary, cranberry, culinary, customary, deflationary, Dewberry, dictionary, disciplinary, discretionary, disinflationary, itinerary, judiciary, lapidary, diversionary, Dogberry, dromedary, emissary, epistolary, estuary, evolutionary, exclusionary, expansionary, expeditionary, extraordinary, fiduciary, formulary, functionary, funerary, gooseberry, hackberry, honorary, Huckleberry, illusionary, imaginary, inflationary, interdisciplinary, legendary, library, literary, luminary, mercenary, missionary, mortuary, mulberry, necessary, noninflationary, obituary, ordinary, pecuniary, preliminary, primary, probationary, pulmonary, quaternary, raspberry, reactionary, recessionary, revolutionary, Rosemary, sanctuary, savagery, secondary, semilegendary, seminary, stationary, stationery, statuary, strawberry, subsidiary, temporary, Tilbury, topiary, unnecessary, urinary, veterinary, visionary, vocabulary. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-e-e-e-m-r-t-y" | |
-2 letters: cermet, meeter, remeet, teemer. | |
-3 letters: creme, emcee, emeer, emery, erect, mercy, meter, metre, remet, retem, terce. | |
-4 letters: cere, cete, cyme, eery, eyer, eyre, meet, mere, mete, rete, teem, term, tree, trey, tyee, tyer, tyre. | |
-5 letters: cee, cry, eme, ere, eye, met, rec, ree, rem, ret, rye, tee, try, tye, yet. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-e-e-e-m-r-t-y" | |
+5 letters: embryogenetic, hemacytometer, hemocytometer, laryngectomee, postemergency, reflectometry, streptomycete. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Spoken | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet | 17. Translations: Modern 18. Translations: Ancient 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
