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kist

kist

9.9
A small stone coffin used for ancient burials
  • noun
  • /kɪst/
  • Archaic
translation icon : kist
  • A Bronze Age kist was discovered on the hillside, containing pottery and bones.

Examples

  • Many prehistoric burials in Scotland used a kist made of large stone slabs.

  • The archaeologists discovered an ancient kist in the burial site.

  • The archaeologists carefully excavated the ancient kist to study its contents.

  • Many ancient cultures used a kist for their dead.

  • The archaeologists carefully excavated the ancient kist to study its contents.

  • A Bronze Age kist was discovered on the hillside, containing pottery and bones.

  • Many prehistoric burials in Scotland used a kist made of large stone slabs.

Synonyms

tomb
vskist
235 3.0

A large stone building or underground room where people put a dead person

is a much smaller stone coffin or modest chamber found in graves
sarcophagus
vskist
37 9.9

A stone coffin often decorated with carved pictures and writing used in ancient burials

is a simpler prehistoric stone coffin or small chamber rather than a decorated monument
cist
vskist
  • Specialized
9.9

A grave made of stones used in ancient times to hold human bones

is a stone-built coffin or small burial chamber found mainly in prehistoric graves

Surface Forms

kist singular
kists plural

Etymology

Kist in the burial sense comes from the same root cista, which meant 'box', so in old graves a kist is literally a stone 'box' or small coffin used to hold a body.