Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An underground vault or chamber, especially one beneath a church that is used as a burial place.
  • noun Anatomy A small pit, recess, or glandular cavity in the body.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A hidden or secret recess; a subterranean cell or cave, especially one constructed or used for the interment of bodies, as in the catacombs.
  • noun A part of an ecclesiastical building, as a cathedral, church, etc., below the chief floor, commonly set apart for monumental purposes, and sometimes used as a chapel or a shrine.
  • noun In anatomy, a follicle; a small simple tubular or saccular secretory pit; a small glandular cavity: as, a mucous crypt (a follicular secretory pit in mucous membrane). See follicle. Also crypta.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A vault wholly or partly under ground; especially, a vault under a church, whether used for burial purposes or for a subterranean chapel or oratory.
  • noun (Anat.) A simple gland, glandular cavity, or tube; a follicle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An underground vault, especially one beneath a church that is used as a burial place.
  • noun anatomy A small pit or cavity in the body

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a cellar or vault or underground burial chamber (especially beneath a church)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin crypta, from Greek kruptē, from feminine of kruptos, hidden, from kruptein, to hide.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

  • The term crypt is sometimes used to signify the lower story of a two-storied building, e.g. the lower chapel of the

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913

  • We actually talked to a man who's been inside that mausoleum, and he said there are what he calls crypt keepers inside who keep the people who don't own property, as he put it, inside, or shouldn't be in there, they keep them out.

    CNN Transcript Sep 2, 2009 2009

  • Perhaps Walt Disney and Madame Tussaud were inspired by places like this, but the Capuchin crypt will not remind you of their worlds, for in spite of all the talk about the great lengths the monks have gone to in order to create lifelike effects, it feels like somewhere that fell into disuse long ago.

    Boing Boing 2008

  • In the Paroquia don't forget to ask to visit the tomb of the first? or third? president of México whose crypt is in the basement.

    Traveling can you tell me What NOT to miss? 2006

  • This building used to be a church, built by Souffelot, and the crypt is where many famous French people are buried.

    "This life I'm living" skipperjbk8 2003

  • This building used to be a church, built by Souffelot, and the crypt is where many famous French people are buried.

    skipperjbk8: Like a lemon to the Lime and a Bumble to the Bee skipperjbk8 2003

  • The dark and mysterious crypt is there, as is the iron grating, which is pointed to as indicating the exact position of the tomb.

    Canada at the Grave of Wolfe 1910

  • Caravaggio's bones found in Italian crypt after 400 years

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

  • Caravaggio's bones found in Italian crypt after 400 years

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

  • Caravaggio's bones found in Italian crypt after 400 years

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

Comments

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  • Eclispe by Stephenie Meyer Page 78

    -"I'll stop by your crypt after school."

    November 1, 2010