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columbarium

[ kol-uhm-bair-ee-uhm ]
/ ˌkɒl əmˈbɛər i əm /
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noun, plural col·um·bar·i·a [kol-uhm-bair-ee-uh]. /ˌkɒl əmˈbɛər i ə/.
a sepulchral vault or other structure with recesses in the walls to receive the ashes of the dead.
any one of these recesses.
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Origin of columbarium

1840–50; <Latin: literally, a nesting box for pigeons, equivalent to columb(a) pigeon, dove + -ārium-ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use columbarium in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for columbarium

columbarium
/ (ˌkɒləmˈbɛərɪəm) /

noun plural -ia (-ɪə)
another name for a dovecote
a vault having niches for funeral urns
a hole in a wall into which a beam is inserted

Word Origin for columbarium

C18: from Latin, from columba dove
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
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