Catacomb was originally the name of just one cemetery near Rome — it generalized to mean all underground burial places, including the Paris tunnels holding six million skeletons.
An underground cemetery consisting of tunnels with recesses for burials, especially the ancient underground cemeteries of Rome and other cities.
From Late Latin catacumbas, originally the proper name of the underground cemetery of San Sebastiano on the Via Appia near Rome (ad catacumbas). The Latin name is possibly from Greek kata (down) + kymbē (hollow vessel, cavity), or from a pre-Latin place name Key roots: catacumbas (Late Latin: "name of a Roman underground cemetery"), kata (Greek: "down, below").
The word catacomb originally referred to just one place: the underground cemetery near the Church of San Sebastiano on the Via Appia outside Rome, where tradition held that the remains of Saints Peter and Paul were temporarily housed during the persecutions. The specific name was later generalized to all underground burial places. The Paris Catacombs hold the remains of approximately six million people, transferred