exhume

See also: exhumé

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin exhumō, from Latin ex- + humō (“to bury”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɛksˈ(h)juːm/, /ɪɡˈzjuːm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈs(j)um/, /ɪɡˈz(j)um/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːm

Verb

exhume (third-person singular simple present exhumes, present participle exhuming, simple past and past participle exhumed)

1. (transitive) To dig out of the ground; to take out of a place of burial; to disinter.

   The archeologist exhumed artifacts from the ground with a shovel.

   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 126:

     Not so long ago a Scotsman is reported to have exhumed the body of his daughter and burnt her heart, as he thought she was devitalising her remaining brother and sister and making them ill.

2. (transitive, figurative) To uncover; to bring to light.
   • 2009, S. E. Wilmer, Writing and Rewriting National Theatre Histories, page 47:

     Memorial was permeated by a sense of mission, a moral imperative to exhume the truth and display it to the eyes of its compatriots, whatever feelings of shame, outrage, denial, or shock might ensue.

Synonyms

• dig up, disinter, unbury, unearth

Antonyms

• bury, inhume, inter

Derived terms

• exhumation
• exhumer

Translations

To dig out of the ground; to take out of a place of burial; to disinter

• Armenian: արտաշիրիմել (artaširimel)
• Aromanian: dizgrop
• Bulgarian: изра́вям (bg) (izrávjam), ексхуми́рам (ekshumíram)
• Catalan: exhumar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 發掘／发掘 (zh) (fājué)

• Czech: exhumovat pf
• Dutch: opgraven (nl)
• Finnish: kaivaa ylös
• French: exhumer (fr)
• Galician: desenterrar (gl), exhumar (gl)
• German: exhumieren (de)
• Hungarian: kiás (hu), kihantol (hu), exhumál (hu)
• Icelandic: grafa upp
• Ido: ekterigar (io), dessepultar (io)
• Irish: dí-adhlaic
• Italian: esumare (it)
• Japanese: 掘り出す (ほりだす, horidasu), 掘り起こす (ほりおこす, horiokosu), 発掘する (ja) (はっくつする, hakkutsu suru)
• Maori: hahu, ehu
• Polish: ekshumować (pl)
• Portuguese: exumar (pt), desenterrar (pt)
• Romanian: exhuma (ro), deshuma (ro), dezgropa (ro)
• Russian: эксгуми́ровать (ru) impf or pf (eksgumírovatʹ), выка́пывать (ru) impf (vykápyvatʹ), вы́копать (ru) pf (výkopatʹ), вырыва́ть (ru) impf (vyryvátʹ), вы́рыть (ru) pf (výrytʹ)
• Spanish: exhumar (es)
• Swedish: gräva upp (sv), exhumera (sv)
• Ukrainian: ексгумува́ти impf or pf (ekshumuváty)
• Walloon: coir (wa)
• Welsh: datgladdu

to uncover, bring to light

• Finnish: paljastaa (fi)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡ.zym/

Verb

exhume

1. inflection of exhumer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Galician

Verb

exhume

1. inflection of exhumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɡˈsume/ [eɣ̞ˈsu.me]
• Rhymes: -ume
• Syllabification: ex‧hu‧me

Verb

exhume

1. inflection of exhumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative