crypt

English

Mary Todd Lincoln's crypt

Etymology

From Latin crypta (vault), from Ancient Greek κρυπτός (kruptós, hidden).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɹɪpt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪpt

Noun

crypt (plural crypts)

  1. (now rare) A cave or cavern. [from 15th c.]
  2. An underground vault, especially one beneath a church that is used as a burial place. [from 16th c.]
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/2/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
      She turned and waved a hand to him, she cried a word, but he didn't hear it, it was a lost word. A sable wraith she was in the parkland, fading away into the dolorous crypt of winter.
  3. (anatomy) A small pit or cavity in the surface of an organ or other structure. [from 19th c.]
    • 2015, David Shaw, translating Giulia Enders, Gut, Scribe 2016, p. 25:
      Sometimes, too much foreign material can get caught in the crypts, leading to frequent infections.

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