Căt'a-cōmb, n.

(-kōm), n. [Fr. catacombe, It. catacomba, Pr., Sp., Pg., & L. Lat. catacumba, from Gr. κατά, downward, down, and κύμβη, cavity.] A cave, grotto, or subterraneous place anciently used for the burial of the dead.

☞ The term is supposed to have been applied originally to the tombs under the church of St. Sebastian in Rome. The name is now given to any subterranean burying-place of large extent. The most celebrated are those near Rome, on the Appian Way, supposed to have been the place of interment of the early Christians; those of Egypt extending for a wide distance in the vicinity of Cairo; and those of Paris in abandoned stone-quarries, excavated under a large portion of the city.