Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Epitaph \Ep"i*taph\, n. [F. ['e]pitaphe, L. epitaphium a funeral
   oration, fr. Gr. ?, orig. an adj., over or at a tomb; 'epi`
   upon + ? tomb. Cf. {Cenotaph}.]
   1. An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or
      commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral
      inscription.

            Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb.    --Shak.

   2. A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a
      monument, as that concerning Alexander: ``Sufficit huic
      tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis.''

Epitaph \Ep"i*taph\, v. t.
   To commemorate by an epitaph. [R.]

         Let me be epitaphed the inventor of English hexameters.
                                                  --G. Harvey.

Epitaph \Ep"i*taph\, v. i.
   To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph. [R.]

         The common in their speeches epitaph upon him . . .
         ``He lived as a wolf and died as a dog.'' --Bp. Hall.

Source : WordNet®

epitaph
     n 1: an inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the
          person buried there
     2: a summary statement of commemoration for a dead person