mortuary

[ mawr-choo-er-ee ]
See synonyms for mortuary on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural mor·tu·ar·ies.
  1. a customary gift formerly claimed by and due to the incumbent of a parish in England from the estate of a deceased parishioner.

adjective
  1. of or relating to the burial of the dead.

  2. pertaining to or connected with death.

Origin of mortuary

1
1350–1400; Middle English mortuarie<Medieval Latin mortuārium, noun use of neuter of Latin mortuārius of the dead, equivalent to mortu(us) dead + -ārius-ary

Other words from mortuary

  • pre·mor·tu·ar·y, adjective

Words Nearby mortuary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mortuary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mortuary

mortuary

/ (ˈmɔːtʃʊərɪ) /


nounplural -aries
  1. Also called: morgue a building where dead bodies are kept before cremation or burial

adjective
  1. of or relating to death or burial

Origin of mortuary

1
C14 (as n, a funeral gift to a parish priest): via Medieval Latin mortuārium (n) from Latin mortuārius of the dead

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012