cenotaph
UK[ˈsen.ə.tɑːf]US[ˈsen.ə.tæf]
n
a monument built to honor people whose remains are buried elsewhere.
Morpheme Breakdown
cenotaph
cenotaph
Etymology
The word 'cenotaph' is a simplex loanword, borrowed whole from the French 'cénotaphe'. Its journey traces back to the Greek 'kenotaphion', a compound formed from 'kenos' (meaning 'empty') and 'taphos' (meaning 'tomb'). The literal Greek concept of an "empty tomb" was adopted into Latin as 'cenotaphium' before entering French and subsequently English. This etymological path perfectly preserves the core semantic logic: a memorial structure that is, by its very definition, a tomb without a body, erected to commemorate those buried in another place.
Analysis
Structure: cenotaph
[unsegmentable]
Examples
The white marble cenotaph in the town square honors the soldiers lost at sea.
Visitors often lay flowers at the national cenotaph on remembrance day.
It was a moving ceremony at the cenotaph for the victims of the disaster.