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mortuary

 - 7 dictionary results

mor⋅tu⋅ar⋅y

[mawr-choo-er-ee] noun, plural -ar⋅ies, adjective
–noun
1. funeral home.
2. a customary gift formerly claimed by and due to the incumbent of a parish in England from the estate of a deceased parishioner.
–adjective
3. of or pertaining to the burial of the dead.
4. pertaining to or connected with death.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME mortuarie < ML mortuārium, n. use of neut. of L mortuārius of the dead, equiv. to mortu(us) dead + -ārius -ary

funeral home

–noun
an establishment where the dead are prepared for burial or cremation, where the body may be viewed, and where funeral services are sometimes held.
Also called funeral chapel, funeral church, funeral parlor, funeral residence, mortuary.


Origin:
1935–40, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mortuary
mor·tu·ar·y   (môr'chōō-ěr'ē)   
n.   pl. mor·tu·ar·ies
A place, especially a funeral home, where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation.
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to burial practices.

  2. Relating to or characteristic of death.


[Middle English mortuarie, gift to a parish priest from the estate of the deceased, funeral service, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin mortuārium, receptacle for dead things, neuter of mortuārius, of the dead, from mortuus, dead, past participle of morī, to die; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Word Origin & History

mortuary 
1330, from Anglo-Fr. mortuarie "gift to a parish priest from a deceased parishioner," from M.L. mortuarium, from neut. of mortuarius "pertaining to the dead," from L. mortuus, pp. of mori "to die" (see mortal). Meaning "place where bodies are kept temporarily" first recorded 1865, a euphemism for earlier deadhouse.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1mor·tu·ary
Pronunciation: 'mor-ch&-"wer-E
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to the burial of the dead
2 : of, relating to, or characteristic of death

Main Entry: 2mortuary
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ar·ies
: a place in which dead bodies are kept and prepared for burialor cremation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

mortuary mor·tu·ar·y (môr'ch&oomacr;-ěr'ē)
n.
A place, especially a funeral home, where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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