A monument or tomb built in honor of someone, especially a soldier, who is buried elsewhere or whose body was never found.
From Greek kenos (empty) plus taphos (tomb). The Greeks invented this word to describe monuments honoring the dead without their bodies present.
Cenotaphs are some of history's most poignant structures—empty tombs for soldiers lost at sea or unknown warriors—which is why you see them everywhere from war memorials to national monuments.
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