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columbarium

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col⋅um⋅bar⋅i⋅um

[kol-uhm-bair-ee-uhm]
–noun, plural -bar⋅i⋅a [-bair-ee-uh] .
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.

Origin:
1840–50; < L: lit., a nesting box for pigeons, equiv. to columb(a) pigeon, dove + -ārium -ary

col⋅um⋅bar⋅y

[kol-uhm-ber-ee]
–noun, plural -bar⋅ies.
a dovecote or pigeon house.


Origin:
1540–50; see columbarium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To columbarium
col·um·bar·i·um   (kŏl'əm-bâr'ē-əm)   
n.   pl. col·um·bar·i·a (-ē-ə) also col·um·bar·ies
    1. A vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the dead.

    2. One of the niches in such a vault.

    3. A dovecote.

    4. A pigeonhole in a dovecote.

    1. A dovecote.

    2. A pigeonhole in a dovecote.


[Latin columbārium, sepulchre for urns, dovecote, from columba, dove.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

columbarium

sepulchral building containing many small niches for cinerary urns. The term is derived from the Latin columba ("dove," or "pigeon"), and it originally referred to a pigeon house or dovecote. It later acquired its more common meaning by association

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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