Epitaph

noun

A brief, commemorative engraving on a tomb or gravestone
A spoken or written testimonial given to memorialize someone who has died or something which no longer exists

Usage

If you've ever taken a stroll through a cemetery, you're probably familiar with how interesting it can be to read the epitaphs on tombstones. These gray, cracked engravings are meant to commemorate an aspect of the deceased's life. Some epitaphs are simple, offering no more than a name and maybe the dates of birth and death. Some are more elaborate, perhaps honoring a specific event in a person's life or some feature of their personality. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll even find one that's humorous - for example, "I told you I was sick!"

The most common usage of epitaph is to refer to the kinds of inscriptions on graves referred to above. These kinds of epitaphs are usually brief, and while they can vary in content they are usually written to reflect and honor some part of a person's life. Although they are most commonly found on tombstones, they can also be engraved in mausoleums, monuments, or other places of importance: for instance, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry makes an epitaph for a fallen comrade by scratching a cross on a tree.

Sometimes, epitaph is used more generally to refer to any statement of reflection given in honor of something. Theoretically, these can be given to any departed object that one feels is worth veneration and take any form that one feels is appropriate. Thus, an epitaph could be a sonnet written as a tribute to the passing of the Roaring Twenties or a small image of a once grand skyscraper that has since been demolished. Like the inscriptions on tombstones, these epitaphs usually attempt to highlight an important aspect of the existence of the object or event they commemorate. Importantly, whatever form such a memorial takes, it is usually brief and succinct. This marks epitaphs as separate from eulogies and obituaries, both of which are similar in message but can be much longer in duration.

Example: The sensitive young girl put together a video-collage as an epitaph for her dead goldfish.

Example: The epitaph on the tombstone of Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and many other characters, says, "That's all, folks!"

Origin

The beginnings of epitaph can be traced back to the Greek roots "epi" (for "during" or "at") and "taphos" (which describes funeral rituals and proceedings). These roots formed the Greek word epitaphion, a term that described a commemorative speech given at a funeral. Variations of the word were later adopted in Medieval Latin and Old French as synonyms for "eulogy," and by the mid-fourteenth century the familiar spelling and meaning of epitaph had made its way into English. It's a bit comforting to know that, although death is ubiquitous, languages have historically always had a method of describing these celebrations of life.

Derivative Words

Somewhat bizarrely, epitaph has three derivative adjectives - epitaphic, epitaphial, and epitaphian - which all characterize something as being in some way related to a commemorative statement or engraving. While none of the three are especially common in casual conversation, they are all interchangeable.

Example: The empty nest served as an epitaphic reminder of the birds that had once lived there.

Example: The epitaphial nature of the speech confused many, as the university president was, in fact, still alive.

Example: Due to an epitaphian error, visitors to Gary's grave might be under the impression that he had somehow been born in 2006 and yet managed to die in 1943.

In Literature

From Robert Frost's "The Lesson for Today":

And were an epitaph to be my story
I'd have a short one ready for my own.
I would have written of me on my stone:
I had a lover's quarrel with the world.

This quote, which actually became Frost's real-life epitaph, explains the way the poet wanted to be remembered after his death.

Mnemonic

An epitaph epitomizes a person after death.