necropolis
Syllables: ne·cro·pol·isUK/nɛˈkɹɒpəlɪs//nɛˈkɹɑpələs/
necropolis noun: a cemetery; especially a large one in or near a city.
Noun
necropolis (plural necropolises or necropoleis or necropoles or necropoli)
- A cemetery; especially a large one in or near a city.
- In Turkey, the tombs, according to the custom of the ancients, are always without the towns; and as each tomb has uſually a large ſtone, and ſome maſonry, they conſtitute what may almoſt be called a ſecond town, which may be named, as formerly at Alexandria, Necropolis, or the city of the dead.1793, C[onstantin] F[rançois] Volney, “Government of the Mamlouks”, in [anonymous], transl., Travels through Syria and Egypt, in the Years 1783, 1784, and 1785. […] In Two Volumes, volume I, Dublin...
- It was a lovely morning, as I said, and the Turks, who are early risers, were sitting on the graves of their kindred with their veiled wives and children, the marble turbans in that thickly-sown nekropolis less numerous than those of the living, who had come, not to mourn the dead who lay beneath...1836, [Nathaniel Parker Willis], “The Gipsy of Sardis. Part III.”, in Inklings of Adventure … In Two Volumes, volume II, New York, N.Y.; London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 61
- Synonyms:
- necropole, boneyard, Boot Hill, burial ground, camposanto, cemetery, churchyard, crypt, God's acre, gravestead
- An ancient site used for burying the dead, particularly if consisting of elaborate grave monuments.
- These labours upon Phœnician necropoli are of great importance. [...] M. [Louis Félicien] de Saulcy, one of the first travellers who has thrown light upon these necropoli, devoted himself to a very interesting examination of the tombs of the kings, of the prophets and judges, and upon the immense...1853, Abbé de St. Michon [i.e., Jean-Hippolyte Michon], chapter XIV, in [anonymous], transl., Narrative of a Religious Journey in the East in 1850 and 1851, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page...
- The ancient Greeks generally buried their dead in their nekropoleis or their gardens; often on the road leading to their towns, or before the gates. This pious feeling of affection and reverence for the dead, is a touching feature in the character of the modern Greeks.1854, A[dolphus] L[ouis] Kœppen, “The Harbors and Naval Establishments of the Ancient Athenians—The Modern Peiræus”, in Sketches of a Traveller from Greece, Constantinople, Asia Minor, Syria and...
- A city or settlement where most people are dead and/or dying.
- You think London isn't a necropolis? Let me tell you it is. And people love it. Our cemeteries are popular tourist attractions.1998, Geoff Nicholson, Bleeding London
- Jerusalem was a necropolis where old or sick pilgrims were content to die and be buried until the Resurrection.2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 271
necropolis meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
necropolis in Hindi
- cemetery
- मृतकनगर mŕtaknagar
necropolis in Tamil
- cemetery
- நெக்ரோபொலிசு nekrōpolicu
necropolis in Urdu
- قبرستان, شہر خموشاں
necropolis in Bengali
- বৃহৎ গোরস্তান, সমাধিক্ষেত্র
More languagesFewer languages
- necropolis in Malayalam
- പൊതുശ്മശാനം, ശവസംസ്കാരസ്ഥലം, സിമിത്തേരി, ശവക്കുഴി
- necropolis in Sinhala
- නෙක්රොපොලිසය nekropolisaya
- necropolis in Arabic
- مَقْبَرَة maqbara
- necropolis in Indonesian
- nekropolis
Examples of necropolis in a sentence
- Soon after the Catholic necropolis opened its gates in 1848, one account tallied "fifty burials a day, half of them poor Irish under seven years of age."2014, Kevin Cook, “Garden Suburb”, in Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America, New York, N.Y.; London...
- Are we not overawed by those immense temples [in Egypt], those prodigious palaces, those grottos hewn in the living rock, those endless necropolises, and those indestructible colossi?1865 February 1, “Pointed Architecture. […]”, in The Art-Student; a Magazine of the Fine Arts: […], volume II, number 13, London: Hall...
- The great cemeteries or necropolises (literally, "cities of the dead") adjacent to the major Etruscan cities such as Cerveteri and Tarquinia are the most visible relics of this civilization.1993, Graeme Barker, Annie Grant, Tom Rasmussen, “Approaches to the Etruscan Landscape: The Development of the Tuscania Survey”, in Peter...
- Separate fractions of dentine and enamel of 12 individuals from the necropolis of Sion (Valais, Switzerland) have been analyzed for Pb and Sr isotope compositions.2003 March, M. Chiaradia, A. Gallay, W. Todt, “Different Contamination Styles of Prehistoric Human Teeth at a Swiss Necropolis (Sion...
Synonyms of necropolis
- boneyard
- Boot Hill
- burial ground
- camposanto
- cemetery
- churchyard
- crypt
- God's acre
- gravestead
- graveyard
6 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of necropolis
| plural | necropolises |
|---|---|
| plural | necropoleis |
| plural | necropoles |
| plural | necropoli |
| alternative form | nekropolis |
Origin of necropolis
Borrowed from Koine Greek νεκρόπολις (nekrópolis, “city of the dead, cemetery”) (used to describe part of the city of Alexandria, Egypt), from Ancient Greek νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- (“to disappear; to perish”)) + πόλις (pólis, “city”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- (“city; fortification”)). The English word is analysable as necro- + -polis, and is cognate with French nécropole, German Nekropolis, Late Latin necropolis. The plural form necropoleis is derived from Ancient Greek νεκροπόλεις (nekropóleis).
Words formed from necropolis
Questions about necropolis
- What does necropolis mean?
- Necropolis means a cemetery; especially a large one in or near a city.
- What is necropolis in Hindi?
- Necropolis in Hindi is मृतकनगर (mŕtaknagar). See Necropolis meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use necropolis in a sentence?
- Soon after the Catholic necropolis opened its gates in 1848, one account tallied "fifty burials a day, half of them poor Irish under seven years of age."
- What part of speech is necropolis?
- Necropolis is a noun.
- How do you pronounce necropolis?
- Necropolis is pronounced /nɛˈkɹɒpəlɪs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of necropolis?
- The plural of necropolis is necropolises.
Words near necropolis in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: necropolis (page history and authors); necropolis (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); necropolis (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); necropolis (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-necropolis.mp3.
Cite this entry: “necropolis.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/necropolis. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.