Certain elements about end-of-life planning may appear a bit unclear to people who are not familiar with it.
This may apply to the language used by memorial stonemasons, funeral directors, and cemeteries since some terms are frequently used interchangeably.
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When someone purchases a memorial headstone for the first time, for instance, they may start to question if they should be looking for a headstone, gravestone, tombstone, or all three combined.
Even while merely meandering around a cemetery or church graveyard, people ponder the same questions.
Although that might sound like a silly inquiry, it’s really rather valid.
What distinguishes a tombstone from a headstone? What the distinction between a tombstone and a gravestone?
These three phrases are frequently used interchangeably as synonyms, but are there any distinctions between them?
Let’s examine each phrase’s historical context in greater detail to see whether there are any situations in which using a certain term is preferable to others.
What Distinguishes a Tombstone, Gravestone, and Headstone?
Nowadays, “headstone,” “gravestone,” and “tombstone” are frequently used interchangeably.
Though language has changed over time, these terms were not always employed in the same contexts as they are now.
Actually, three distinct objects were described by each of the three words.
Now let’s look at each term’s origins.
The Word Gravestone’s Origin
To begin, let’s define “gravestone.”
The term tombstone was first used in common usage between 1175 and 1225, and its origins may be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
When a tombstone was referenced during this period, it was usually used to allude to the massive stone slab that covered a burial.
There might have been text, a date, or a name inscribed on this massive tombstone.
It was not like the vertical grave markers of today; instead, it was a big stone slab that would lay horizontally over the top of the burial area.
The Word Tombstone’s Origin
Out of the three terms, “tombstone” is the most recent to enter the English language, having been used since around 1560.
The Greek words “tymbos” (meaning “burial mound”) and “stia” (meaning “pebble”) are the sources of the term tombstone.
From this point on, “stia” developed into “stone” and “tymbos” into “tomb.”
The name “tombstone” originally referred to the stone coffin lid, as coffins during this era were frequently constructed of stone.
The Word Headstone’s Origin
The word “headstone” originated around 1400.
In the beginning, it was synonymous with “cornerstone,” a ceremonial stone that connects two external walls at a building’s corner.
Typically, this stone is engraved with the beginning and ending dates of the building’s construction, the names of the architects and the owner, and any other pertinent details.
These days, cornerstones are frequently arranged artistically on internal walls, floors, or the building’s façade.
They once held great structural and symbolic significance, serving as a point of reference for all other stones used in the build’s foundation in addition to holding information about the construction.
Connection with Cemetery Markers
The meaning of a headstone, gravestone, and tombstone has changed over the ages.
Although the exact date of this change is unknown, we do know that by 1711, the phrase “tombstone” was being used to refer to a burial marker. Similarly, the term “gravestone” was also in use at that time.
The meaning of the word “headstone” quickly changed and it was also connected to burial markers.
The literal definition of the word “headstone” by 1775 was “upright stone at the head of a grave.”
Given the particular information highlighted by cornerstones and the positioning of grave markers on burial sites, this relationship makes logical.
When Was the Initially Interred?
For an extended period, the Qafzeh cave in Israel held the record for the oldest known deliberate burial, dating back around 10,000 years.
Up to fifteen people’s remains were discovered here, together with fragments of red ocher, indicating that it was used in a ceremony. But when a recent discovery in Africa revealed the deliberate burial of a small infant, now known as Mtoto, dating back over 80,000 years, this fact was drastically altered.
This new discovery lends support to the notion held by many academics that the earliest human graves probably occurred more than 100,000 years ago.
These results also demonstrate how comparable our cognition, sociality, and behaviors were to our own in the 21st century, while living in an environment and way of life that would have been considerably different.
Employing the Terms Headstone
One term that was used interchangeably with cornerstone was headstone. These days, an upright stone placed at the head of a burial site is referred to as a headstone.
A headstone has details like the deceased person’s name and birth and death dates carved, embossed, or etched into the stone material. Certain headstones may include quotations, pictures, or further details about the deceased person.
Using Tombstone as a Word
The term “tombstone” refers to the stone cover that was a part of a stone coffin from the middle of the sixteenth century.
Over time, the definition of a tombstone evolved to refer to an upright stone placed at the top of a grave. The name of the dead, along with their birth and death dates, are usually inscribed on the stone. A portrait of the deceased or an epitaph can also be seen on certain tombstones.
Employing the Term “Gravestone”
A huge stone used to cover the top of a burial ground was referred to as a tombstone. Frequently, the stone bore details about the departed individual. This could contain an epitaph, their name, and their dates of birth and death.
They frequently had ornamental gravestone emblems as well. A grave ledger is the closest modern equivalent of a tombstone in terms of memorial usage. These days, when discussing a burial monument, the terms “gravestone,” “headstone,” and “tombstone” are interchangeable.