epitaph Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there
  2. noun a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person

WordNet

Ep"i*taph noun
Etymology
F. épitaphe, L. epitaphium a funeral oration, fr. Gr. , orig. an adj., over or at a tomb; upon + tomb. Cf. Cenotaph.
Definitions
  1. An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.
    Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb. Shak.
  2. A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: "Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis."
Ep"i*taph transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To commemorate by an epitaph. R.
    Let me be epitaphed the inventor of English hexameters. G. Harvey.
Ep"i*taph intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph. R.
    The common in their speeches epitaph upon him . . . "He lived as a wolf and died as a dog." Bp. Hall.

Webster 1913