Word Of The Week #39

[ajax]

Word Of The Week -- sepulchral
Definition: se·pul·chral (s&-pŭl'kr&l, -pōōl'-)
adj.

1. Of or relating to a burial vault or a receptacle for sacred relics.
2. Gruesomely indicative of death or the dead.
3. Of sounds, hollow and deep.

Etymology: [Old French: sepulcre, from Latin sepulcrum grave, tomb, from root of sepelire to bury, originally to perform rituals on a corpse.]

Obscurity: 85% (Come again?)

Usefulness: 15% (Anybody using this word is trying to confuse you, impress you, or both.)

Examples:
(def. 1) "The carvings in the sepulchral chamber were the best-preserved at the dig site."
(def. 2) "In keeping with their sepulchral motif, the death metal band always performed in corpsepaint."
(def. 3) "With the wall hangings taken down, the uncovered basement walls gave our voices a booming, sepulchral quality."

This word always reminds me of the dear, departed Brazilian death metal band Sepultura, whose name means "tomb" in Portuguese. They were never one of my top favorites, but their 1996 album Roots, which incorporates tribal music styles from indigenous Brazilians, is pretty darn cool.

I picked it today because I've been dealing with a mild case of the ol' SAD lately. Winter temperatures have returned to Chicagoland with a vengeance, and gloomy overcast skies, chilly feet, and worries about money and the impending relocation (which I still have not made a lot of progress on) have made for a considerable and deepening funk. And not the good, James Brown kind of funk. Blah.

--- Ajax.