Meanings
nouncippus (plural cippuses or cippi)
plural cippuses · plural cippi
- 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.
[…]lodged on the top of an ancient sepulchral cippus
1855, Henry Duncan, Autumn1 more example
[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.
1892, Thomas Keightley, Fairy Mythology, London: George Bell and Sons, page 5 - historicalThe stocks.
Origin
- Latincippus“stake, post”
- Englishcippus
Borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake, post”). Doublet of cep.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Portuguese cipo
- cipolow pillar built by the ancients
Cite this entry
APA
cippus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cippus
MLA
“cippus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cippus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cippus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cippus.
Source: cippus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.