ossuary

[ osh-oo-er-ee, os- ]
/ ˈɒʃ uˌɛr i, ˈɒs- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ossuary ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural os·su·ar·ies.

a place or receptacle for the bones of the dead.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!

Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.
unproductive; unfruitful
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Also ossuarium.

Origin of ossuary

1650–60; <Late Latin ossuārium, variant of ossārium, equivalent to oss- (stem of os) bone + -ārium-ary

Words nearby ossuary

ossify, Ossining, osso bucco, ossobuco, ossuarium, ossuary, OST, O star, oste-, osteal, ostealgia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to ossuary

vessel, container, receptacle, vault

Example sentences from the Web for ossuary

British Dictionary definitions for ossuary

ossuary
/ (ˈɒsjʊərɪ) /

noun plural -aries

any container for the burial of human bones, such as an urn or vault

Word Origin for ossuary

C17: from Late Latin ossuārium, from Latin os bone
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