How do you pronounce cemetery?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/.

Where does cemetery come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

cemetery

/ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.06 in modern English

Syllables: ceme-tery
IPA: /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/

Scrabble Score

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Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A place where the dead are buried; a graveyard or memorial park.

Example Sentences

"The plain around was interspersed with cemeteries, Turk, Greek, and Armenian, with their growth of cypress trees..."
"They were probably the work of individual craftsmen working to meet the chieftains' needs. Their place in the chronology of the big cemeteries is indicated by the less richly-decorated double-springed bronze brooches which are found here."
"[…] the cemetery – which people of shattering wit like Sampson never tired of calling ‘the dead centre of town’ […]"

Etymology

From Middle English cimiterie, from Old French cimitiere, from Medieval Latin cimitērium, from Late Latin coemētērium, from Ancient Greek κοιμητήριον (koimētḗrion), from κοιμάω (koimáō, “I put to sleep”); compare cœmeterium. Displaced Middle English charnel (“mass grave, cemetery”) and Old English līctūn (“cemetery”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *ḱey-, cimiterie, cimitiere, cimitērium, coemētērium, κοιμητήριον

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɛɹ.i/
British English: /ˈsɛm.ɪˌtɹi/

Inflected Forms

cemeteries (plural) cœmeterium (alternative) cœmetery (alternative) cemetary (alternative) cementery (alternative)

Derived Forms

cemeterial cemeterian cemeteryful cemeterylike

Phrases

car cemetery cemetery gun cemetery vote cemetery voting pet cemetery union cemetery war cemetery charnel house

Frequently Paired Words

catacomb charnel house churchyard columbarium crypt graveyard mausoleum morgue

Synonyms

boneyard Boot Hill burial ground camposanto cemetery churchyard crypt God's acre gravestead graveyard kirkyard lichyard