morgue

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a building (or room) where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation

Etymology

Borrowed from French morgue. The second sense developed from the first, via "a prison examination room", probably with reference to the haughty attitude of the jailers.

In classic literature

Synonyms

mortuary, dead room

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