morgue

American  

[mawrg] / mɔrg /

noun

1. a place in which bodies are kept, especially the bodies of victims of violence or accidents, pending identification or burial.

2. a reference file of old clippings, mats, books, etc., in a newspaper office.

3. the room containing such a reference file.

4. any place, as a room or file, where records, information, or objects are kept for unexpected but possible future use.

5. such records, information, or objects.

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morgue ¹ British  

/ mɔːɡ /

noun

1. another word for mortuary

2. informal a room or file containing clippings, files, etc, used for reference in a newspaper

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morgue ² British  

/ mɔrɡ /

noun

1. superiority; haughtiness

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Etymology

Origin of morgue

1815–25; < French; name of building in Paris housing unidentified dead bodies

Example Sentences

Individuals were also identified in footage from morgues, including the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre, to where many bodies from Tehran and surrounding areas were transferred.

From BBC

That was until a year later, when Nataliya was informed that a body had been identified in a morgue in south-eastern Ukraine, using a sample of DNA she had given.

From BBC

“They called the morgue. They thought you were dead.”

From Literature

In many cases, Iranians say it has taken them days to identify the bodies of relatives among the vast number of people transferred to morgues.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mourners gathered around the bodies as they were taken from the morgue towards the hospital courtyard, where men lined up in silence to perform an Islamic funeral prayer recited for the dead.

From Barron's

Related Words

• funeral home