[mawr-choo-er-ee] 
noun, plural -ar⋅ies, adjective | 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. |
| 3. | of or pertaining to the burial of the dead. |
| 4. | pertaining to or connected with death. |
| an establishment where the dead are prepared for burial or cremation, where the body may be viewed, and where funeral services are sometimes held. |
| 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.
[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.] |
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.