lichyard

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

lich (corpse) +‎ yard

Noun[edit]

lichyard (plural lichyards)

  1. (literary) A graveyard.
    • 1893, Anne Reeve Aldrich, “A Ballad of Slumber”, in Nadine and Other Poems[1], page 20:
      The last sleep that my love slept
      Shall last till Judgment Day,
      In corner of the lichyard close,
      'Neath drooping boughs of May.
    • 1996, George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones, Bantam Specta, US (1996), →ISBN, Voyager Books, UK (1996), →ISBN Chapter 53, "Bran", unumbered page:
      Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants.
    • 1999, George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings[2], Bantam Spectra, published 2000, →ISBN:
      Mikken lay buried in the lichyard, and the new smith was capable of little more than nails and horseshoes.
    • 2008, Jay Lake, Escapement, Tor Books, published 2009, →ISBN, page 157:
      Stands of trees teeming with barking animals would be quiet as lichyards when he passed them again.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:lichyard.

Synonyms[edit]