mortuary

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a room or building where dead bodies are kept before burial, cremation, or examination

   The body was taken to the hospital mortuary for identification.

2. 2
   adj

   relating to death, funerals, or the care of the dead

   The museum displayed several mortuary objects from the ancient tomb.

Simplified etymology

Mortuary derives from Latin mortuus “dead.” In the Middle Ages it denoted a gift claimed by a parish priest from a deceased person’s estate; the modern sense of a room or building where bodies are kept dates from the mid-19th century.

From Middle English mortuary and Anglo-Norman mortuarie, ultimately from Medieval Latin mortuarium, "receptacle for the dead," and mortuarius, "pertaining to the dead." These derive from Latin mortuus, "dead," the past participle of mori, "to die."

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary