[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sarcophagus \sarcoph"agus\, n.; pl. l. sarcophagi, e.
   sarcophaguses. l., fr. gr. sarkofa`gos, properly, eating
   flesh; sa`rx, sa`rkos, flesh + fagei^n to eat. cf.
   sarcasm.
   1. a species of limestone used among the greeks for making
      coffins, which was so called because it consumed within a
      few weeks the flesh of bodies deposited in it. it is
      otherwise called lapis assius, or assian stone, and is
      said to have been found at assos, a city of lycia.
      --holland.
      1913 webster

   2. a coffin or chest-shaped tomb of the kind of stone
      described above; hence, any stone coffin.
      1913 webster

   3. a stone shaped like a sarcophagus and placed by a grave as
      a memorial.
      1913 webster
see also:
sarcophagi sarcophaguses sarcasm lapis assius assian stone 

Lapis >> L Words
Lapis, definition of term: Lapis
lapis_pag1.html

Lapis Lazuli >> L Words
Lapis Lazuli, definition of term: Lapis Lazuli
lapis+lazuli_pag1.html