A sarcophagus (plural, sarcophagi; sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek  sarx meaning "flesh", and phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarcophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos ( ). Since lithos is Greek for "stone", lithos sarcophagos means "flesh-eating stone". The word also came to refer to a particular kind of limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses interred within it.