Etymograph

English

sarcophagus

Sarcophagus comes from Latin sarcophagus ‘grave’, from Ancient Greek ἔφαγον ‘to devour, eat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- ‘to divide, distribute’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂g-‘to divide, distribute’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂g-reconstructedzero-grade of *bʰeh₂g-
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔφαγονéphagon‘to devour, eat’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσαρκός
  5. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσᾰρκοφᾰ́γοςsărkophắgos
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsarcophagus‘grave’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1601same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂g-‘to divide, distribute’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂g-reconstructedzero-grade of *bʰeh₂g-
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔφαγονéphagon‘to devour, eat’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσαρκός
  5. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσᾰρκοφᾰ́γοςsărkophắgos
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsarcophagus‘grave’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1601same form

Earliest quotation: 1601, Caius Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder]: “Near unto Aſſos, a citie in Troas, there is…”

The story

The noun is borrowed from Latin sarcophagus (‘grave; sarcophagus; flesh-eating, carnivorous’), from Ancient Greek σᾰρκοφᾰ́γος (sărkophắgos, “sarcophagus; flesh-eating, carnivorous”) (so named from λῐ́θος σᾰρκοφᾰ́γος (lĭ́thos sărkophắgos, literally “flesh-eating stone”) a type of limestone found at Assos in Troas (now Behramkale, Turkey) thought to consume the flesh of corpses, and thus used to make coffins), from σαρκός (sarkós) (the genitive form of σάρξ (sárx, “flesh; body”), from Proto-Indo-European *twerḱ- (‘to carve; to cut off, trim’)) + -φάγος (-phágos, suffix meaning ‘eater (of); eating’) (from ἔφαγον (éphagon, “to devour, eat”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- (‘to allot, distribute; to divide’)). The plural form sarcophagi is borrowed from Latin sarcophagī.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- ‘to divide, distribute’

book, bhakti, bagh, bhagat, bhajan, 3 more

Today it means

noun A stonen coffin, often with its exterior inscribed, or decorated with sculpture.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g- / sarcophagus

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