Book of the Dead

proper noun

An ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom consisting of spells to assist the journey of the dead into the afterlife, developed from the earlier Coffin Texts.

OriginGerman Todtenbuch →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. An ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom consisting of spells to assist the journey of the dead into the afterlife, developed from the earlier Coffin Texts.
  2. Any comparable text from another culture intended to serve as a guide to the experiences one has after death, such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead or Ethiopian Book of the Dead.

Origin

  1. GermanTodtenbuch
  2. EnglishBook of the Dead

A calque of German Todtenbuch (der Ägypter), used by Karl Richard Lepsius in his 1842 publication describing the text.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic كِتَاب الْمَوْتَى
  • كِتَاب الْمَوْتَى (kitāb al-mawtā)ancient Egyptian funerary text
Czech Kniha mrtvých
  • Kniha mrtvýchancient Egyptian funerary text
Finnish Kuolleiden kirja
  • Kuolleiden kirjaancient Egyptian funerary text
German Totenbuch
  • Totenbuchancient Egyptian funerary text
Italian Libro dei morti
  • Libro dei mortiancient Egyptian funerary text
Portuguese Livro dos mortos
  • Livro dos mortosancient Egyptian funerary text
Swedish De dödas bok
  • De dödas bokancient Egyptian funerary text
Cite this entry
APA

Book of the Dead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Book%20of%20the%20Dead

MLA

“Book of the Dead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Book%20of%20the%20Dead. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Book of the Dead,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Book%20of%20the%20Dead.

Source: Book of the Dead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.