columbarium
UK /ˌkɒləmˈbɛəɹi.əm/ · US /ˌkɑləmˈbɛri.əm/ noun
Forms columbariums columbaria
- noun (historical) A columbary, especially a large and architecturally impressive one for housing a large colony of pigeons or doves, such as those in ancien régime France.
- noun A pigeonhole in such a dovecote.
- noun A building, a vault or a similar place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns containing cremated remains.
- noun A niche in such a building for housing urns.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin columbārium, from columba (“pigeon”) + -ārium (“place for”).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. See Columbary.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “columbarium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details