mortuary English · revision 965

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɔːt͡ʃʊəɹi/, /ˈmɔːt͡ʃwəɹi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɔɹt͡ʃəˌwɛɹi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|enm|mortuarie]], [[bor|xno|mortuarie]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|la-med|mortuārium]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the neuter of ''mortuārius'' “of the dead”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|mortuus|t=dead]], the past participle of ''morī'' “to die”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A customary gift claimed by a parish priest from the estate of a deceased parishioner (c. 1380).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The gift was once a voluntary donation brought with the body to the church, in compensation for tithes the dead person had neglected.^(Etymonline) The word also meant a funeral (c. 1440).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The adjective, “of the burial of the dead”, dates from 1514.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) The modern sense, a place where dead bodies are kept until burial, appeared in 1865 as a euphemism for the earlier ''dead-house''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – a gift to the parish priest from a deceased's estate.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1440 – a funeral (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1514 – adjective, of burial.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1540 – adjective, relating to death.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1865 – a place where bodies are kept.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A place where dead bodies are kept before burial or [[cremation]], especially a [[funeral home]]; a [[morgue]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(historical)'' A customary gift due to a parish priest from the estate of a dead parishioner.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to the burial of the dead, or to death.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mortician]]

+ * [[mortal]]

+ * [[morgue]]

+ * [[post-mortem]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}