columbarium

American  

[kol-uhm-bair-ee-uhm] / ˌkɒl əmˈbɛər i əm /

noun

plural

columbaria

1. a sepulchral vault or other structure with recesses in the walls to receive the ashes of the dead.

2. any one of these recesses.

3. columbary.

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columbarium British  

/ ˌkɒləmˈbɛərɪəm /

noun

1. another name for a dovecote

2. a vault having niches for funeral urns

3. a hole in a wall into which a beam is inserted

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Etymology

Origin of columbarium

1840–50; < Latin: literally, a nesting box for pigeons, equivalent to columb ( a ) pigeon, dove + -ārium -ary

Example Sentences

Her remains are stored in one of a series of ornate lockers in the columbarium of a Buddhist temple in Hsinchu, second from the bottom, just a few feet away from my uncle, her son.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2024

At a columbarium, there is little to sweep and not enough space for elaborate altar spreads.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

A requiem mass for Tutu will be held on New Year’s Day before he is cremated and his remains placed in a columbarium in the cathedral.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2021

Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery On Saturday, Dec. 14, approximately 3,000 wreaths will be placed on graves and at columbarium walls in the wreath laying ceremony in Millsboro, so every veteran will be honored.

From Washington Times • Dec. 7, 2019

The columbarium provides for three hundred urns; less than half these receptacles are as yet filled, but the number of cremations increases slowly year by year.

From Paris From the Earliest Period to the Present Day; Volume 2 by Walton, William