cippus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake, post”). Doublet of cep.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪ.pəs/

Noun

cippus (plural cippuses or cippi)

1. A small, low pillar, square or round, commonly having an inscription, used by the ancients for various purposes, as for indicating the distances of places, for a landmark, for sepulchral inscriptions, etc.
   • 1855, Henry Duncan, Autumn:

     […] lodged on the top of an ancient sepulchral cippus

   • 1892, Thomas Keightley, Fairy Mythology, London: George Bell and Sons, page 5:

     [A] cippus, found at Valencia in Spain, has on one of its sides Fatus Q. Fabius ex voto, and on the other, three female figures, with the attributes of the Mœræ or Parcæ.

2. (historical) The stocks.

Translations

low pillar built by the ancients

Portuguese: cipo (pt) m Sicilian: cippu (scn) m

stocks — see stocks

References

• “cippus”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.