mortuary
Americannoun
plural
mortuaries-
a customary gift formerly claimed by and due to the incumbent of a parish in England from the estate of a deceased parishioner.
adjective
-
of or relating to the burial of the dead.
-
pertaining to or connected with death.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mortuary
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
Explanation
A mortuary is a room or area, often in a hospital, where dead bodies are kept. You can also use the word mortuary to talk about a funeral home. When a person dies in a hospital, his body is usually moved to a mortuary before an autopsy takes place. A mortuary is also where a body is kept until it's buried or cremated. Another word for a mortuary is a morgue, which is more commonly used in the United States. In the 1500's, mortuary was used as an adjective meaning "pertaining to death," from the Latin root word mortuus, or "dead."
Vocabulary lists containing mortuary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Puckett died peacefully Monday at his home in Columbus, Georgia, according to the Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, which is handling funeral arrangements.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2024
The four bodies were taken to Kingstown Mortuary, which will conduct “post-mortem examinations” to uncover the victims’ causes of death.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Mortuary workers will wash them and lay them out on a wooden table in the correct anatomical position for further study.
From BBC • Jan. 3, 2024
Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary, according to the death certificate.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2023
Aluminum shipping caskets containing bodies are stacked outside the US Army Mortuary facility at Tan Sun Nhut Airbase near Saigon, 1969.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
