E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| Catacomb. | |
A subterranean place for the burial of the dead. The Persians have a city they call Comb or Coom, full of mausoleums and the sepulchres of the Persian saints. (Greek, kata-kumb , a hollow place underground.) (See KOOM.) | 1 |
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The most awful idea connected with the catacombs is their interminable extent, and the possibility of going astray in the labyrinth of darkness.Hawthorne: Marble Faun, iii. |
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