/ ˈepɪtɑːf; NAmE -tæf/ noun
1.
words that are written or said about a dead person, especially words on a gravestone
2.
epitaph (to sb/sth) something which is left to remind people of a particular person, a period of time or an event :
These slums are an epitaph to the housing policy of the 1960s.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French epitaphe , via Latin from Greek epitaphion funeral oration, neuter of ephitaphios over or at a tomb, from epi upon + taphos tomb.