catacomb
noun
Kingman Brewster †1988
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About forty Christian catacombs have been found near the roads that once led into Rome. After the decline of the Roman empire these cemeteries were forgotten, not to be rediscovered until 1578. Catacomb has come to refer to different kinds of underground chambers and passageways. The catacombs of Paris are abandoned stone quarries that were not used for burials until 1787. The catacombs built by a monastery in Palermo, Sicily, for its deceased members later began accepting bodies from outside the monastery; today you may wander through looking at hundreds of mummified corpses propped against the catacomb walls, dressed in tattered clothes that were once fashionable.
Examples of catacomb in a Sentence
Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
TikTok is always warning me not to venture into the Paris catacombs without a guide, but the beginning of the Opening Ceremony sent precocious children to run down there unattended.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2024
While Pope and Sarah desperately sought an escape, a violent storm hit and flooded the catacombs.
—Jordana Comiter, People.com, 16 Oct. 2024
Yes, Pope and Sarah do end part one trapped in a catacomb in Charleston that is rapidly filling with water.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Catacomb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catacomb. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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catacomb
noun
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