MASTABA
mastaba, mastabah
(noun) an ancient Egyptian mud-brick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof; “the Egyptian pyramids developed from the mastaba”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
mastaba (plural mastabas)
A wide stone bench built into the wall of a house, shop etc. in the Middle East.
(architecture) A rectangular structure with a flat top and slightly sloping sides, built during Ancient Egyptian times above tombs that were situated on flat land. Mastabas were made of wood, mud bricks, stone, or a combination of these materials. Some are solid structures, while others can contain one or more rooms, sometimes decorated with paintings or inscriptions.
Source: Wiktionary
Mas"ta*ba, n. Also Mas"ta*bah . [Ar. maçtabah a large stone bench.]
1. In Mohammedan countries, a fixed seat, common in dwellings and in
public places.
2. (Egyptology) A type of tomb, of the time of the Memphite
dynasties, comprising an oblong structure with sloping sides
(sometimes containing a decorated chamber, sometimes of solid
masonry), and connected with a mummy chamber in the rock beneath.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition