crypt

noun

1
a
: a chamber (such as a vault) wholly or partly underground
especially : a vault under the main floor of a church
b
: a chamber in a mausoleum
2
a
: an anatomical pit or depression
b
: a simple tubular gland

Did you know?

Hidden under the main floor of a great church is often a large room, often with a tomb as its centerpiece. Many major European churches were built over the remains of a saint—the Vatican's great St. Peter's Basilica is an example—and instead of having the coffin buried, it was often given its spacious room below ground level. In a large aboveground tomb, or mausoleum, there may be several small chambers for individual coffins, also called crypts; when the comic book Tales from the Crypt made its first appearance in 1950, it was this meaning that the authors were referring to.

Examples of crypt in a Sentence

the old church's crypt is the final resting place for the president and his beloved wife
Recent Examples on the Web Now, seventy years after the creation of the self-regulatory body Comics Code Authority, the infamous comics company is blasting out of the crypt and returning with a brand new line of comics. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024 In England, excavations at Exeter Cathedral revealed the original foundations of the church’s 12th-century high altar, a medieval crypt and the empty tombs of two bishops. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023 The crypt doors have creaked open on Disney's newest Haunted Mansion attraction: the world's first-ever bar inspired by the classic ride. EW.com, 24 Oct. 2023 While digging in the quire, a space at the cathedral’s center that houses its choir stalls, high altar and bishop’s throne, researchers unearthed the original foundations of a 12th-century altar, a medieval crypt and the empty tombs of two bishops. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2023 Death of Classical is alive and well The crypts, caves, catacombs and cemeteries of New York City have become an unexpected haven for classical music lovers. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 24 June 2023 The church was actually a crypt, beneath a church, on the outskirts. Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Dec. 2023 Wise walked through the crypt, an area of the building below the Rotunda, and past the Memorial Door in the middle of the building before leaving, Stone said. Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 3 May 2023 Prospects for a Black figurative artist were slim, and the modest salaries for professional football players at the time left him with little savings; Barnes worked for a short period in the off-season as a door-to-door salesman, and as a construction worker building crypts. Adam Bradley, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crypt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin crypta, crupta "covered passage, underground room," borrowed from Greek kryptḗ "underground room," noun derivative from feminine of kryptós "hidden, secret," verbal adjective of krýptein "to hide, conceal," of uncertain origin

Note: The verb krýptein is phonetically and semantically close to kalýptein "to cover, conceal," and the two may have influenced each other. Other forms with which krýptein has been compared, such as Old Church Slavic kryjǫ, kryti "to cover, hide, shroud," Lithuanian kráuju, kráuti "to pile up," are too distant phonetically to allow realistic reconstruction of an Indo-European verbal base. The alternation in consonants between kryp- (in krýptein, kryptós), kryb- (in krýbdēn "secretly"), and kryph- (in kryphêi "in secret," -kryphos "hidden") is apparently the result of both assimilation and analogy.

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of crypt was in 1583

Dictionary Entries Near crypt

Cite this Entry

“Crypt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crypt. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crypt

noun
: an underground chamber
also : a chamber for burial

Medical Definition

crypt

noun
1
: an anatomical pit, depression, or invagination
a developing tooth in its bony crypt
see tonsillar crypt
2
: a simple tubular gland (as a crypt of Lieberkühn)

More from Merriam-Webster on crypt

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