Introducing a new NPR book club ... for kids! Our first book will be The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Young readers are invited to read the book... Finally, NPR For YOU! For all those youngsters in ...
‘Cemetery’ and ‘graveyard’ share the same meaning of “burial ground,” referring to a place where dead bodies are buried. However, ‘graveyard’ usually suggests a small cemetery, such as one situated next to a church.
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed.
Graveyard is a newer word, and was initially a much more religiously neutral one: When it first popped up in English in the mid-1700s, it simply meant “a burial ground.”
/ ˈɡreɪvˌjɑrd / Add to word list a place where dead people are buried (Definition of graveyard from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
The words “cemetery” and “graveyard” often appear interchangeable, but they have distinct meanings rooted in history and usage. Exploring these differences helps clarify their unique characteristics.
A graveyard is an area of land, sometimes near a church, where dead people are buried. They made their way to a graveyard to pay their traditional respects to the dead.
A graveyard is an area of land set aside for burial. It is usually adjacent to a place of worship. In the Middle Ages people who were wealthy or of high social status were buried in a crypt inside the church.