So THAT's The Difference Between A Headstone, A Gravestone, And A Tombstone

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6904840f180000498a0401ac.jpeg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Cemetery" data-caption="Cemetery" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="JF Martin via Unsplash" />Cemetery</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>I was embarrassingly far into my 20s when I learned that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cemetery-vs-graveyard-meaning_uk_6901f4b7e4b0828bf5cd5032">graveyards and cemeteries </a>aren’t the same thing (the same goes for <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/coffin-casket-difference_l_68f64ca1e4b02184e56ef590">“coffin” and “casket”</a>).</p><p>And I’m appalled at how many Halloweens I’ve spent unaware of the gory difference between <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ghost-vs-ghoul-meaning_uk_6900849de4b0973a4c054b09">ghosts and ghouls</a>.  </p><p>Well, another blow to my spooky self-esteem: seems I’ve been wrong to assume that tombstones are the same thing as headstones, too. </p><h2><strong>What’s the difference between a tombstone, a gravestone, and a headstone? </strong></h2><p>Many of us use the terms interchangeably to describe an engraved slab of rock placed above a deceased person’s grave. </p><p>And according to headstone experts at <a href="https://www.milanomonuments.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-headstone-tombstone-and-gravestone" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Milano monuments</a>, that’s honestly alright for day-to-day use – in modern contexts, people will know what you mean. </p><p>But historically, the words have had distinct meanings. </p><p>Originally, “tombstone”<a href="https://www.milanomonuments.com/blog/what-is-the-differenc