How do you pronounce mausoleum?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˌmɔ.səˈli.əm/.

Where does mausoleum come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

mausoleum

/ˌmɔ.səˈli.əm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.94 in modern English

Syllables: mau-soleum
IPA: /ˌmɔ.səˈli.əm/

Scrabble Score

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Meaning

noun

A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs.

noun

A gloomy, usually large room or building.

name

The grand tomb built around 353–351 BCE at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a ruler of Caria and satrap of the Achaemenid Empire; one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Example Sentences

"Holonym: cemetery"
"His embalmed corpse, exhibited to this day in the mausoleum in Moscow, aptly symbolizes the new order which, he promised, was soon to embrace all mankind."
"As Amazon reaches maximum ubiquity in our lives (“Alexa, play Led Zeppelin”), as online shopping turns malls into mausoleums, it’s been illuminating to see exactly how a package makes the final leg of its journey."
"Phileus, an eminent Ionian architect, built the Mausoleum, in conjunction with Satyrus, and the temple of Athena Polias, at Priene. The date of the erection of the Mausoleum was soon after B.C. 353, the year in which Mausolus died; that of the temple at Priene must have been about 20 years later."
"Because of its status as a wonder of the world, the Mausoleum was admired by Vitruvius and Strabo and described with measurements by the elder Pliny."
"Even when painted, marble retains its capacity to absorb and retransmit light, so that the sculptures of a monument like the Mausoleum would have been characterized by a kind of living glow even in their polychromy. The use of marble quite literally lent an added lustre to the deeds of Mausolus and his ancestors which it celebrated."

Etymology

From Middle English mausoleum, from Latin Mausōlēum, from Ancient Greek Μαυσωλεῖον (Mausōleîon, “Mausoleum, the grand tomb built around 353–351 BCE at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a ruler of Caria and satrap of the Achaemenid Empire; one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”), from Μαύσωλος (Maúsōlos, “Mausolus”) + -εῖον (-eîon, noun-forming suffix meaning “place or building associated with a specific purpose or person”). By surface analysis, Mausolus + -eum.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: mausoleum, Mausōlēum, Μαυσωλεῖον

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌmɔ.səˈli.əm/
British English: /ˌmɔː.zəˈliː.əm/

Inflected Forms

mausoleums (plural) mausolea (plural) mausolæum (alternative, obsolete) the Mausoleum (canonical) Mausoleon (alternative) Mausoleion (alternative)

Derived Forms

mausoleal mausolean mausolocracy

Frequently Paired Words

crypt ossuary mausolean mausoleum

Rhymes With

museum liam coliseum colosseum athenaeum reum