sarcophagus

Where does the word "sarcophagus" come from? It comes from Greek sarkophagos, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Sarcophagus’s story begins in Greek: sarkophagos meant “flesh-eating (stone).” 'flesh-eating', for a limestone quarried near Assos that was believed to consume corpses within weeks. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as sarcophagus. Pliny the Elder describes the stone; the name passed to stone coffins generally. It reached English by 1600s as sarcophagus. Used for the carved coffins of antiquity. Today, sarcophagus means a stone coffin, typically decorated.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient sarkophagos "flesh-eating (stone)", 'flesh-eating', for a limestone quarried near Assos that was believed to consume corpses within weeks.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient sarcophagus "stone coffin", Pliny the Elder describes the stone; the name passed to stone coffins generally.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s sarcophagus "stone coffin", used for the carved coffins of antiquity.