Almery

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old-fashioned cupboard or wall recess, most often in a church, used to keep sacred vessels and books
2. A archaic storage niche or closet built into a church wall for holding liturgical objects and vessels
3. A small cabinet or recessed cupboard, traditionally set in a church wall, for keeping sacred items safe

Etymology: Almery is simply an older spelling of "ambry," a word for a cupboard or recess set into the wall of a church, usually near the altar, where sacred vessels, books or other items were kept. The same Latin root produced a whole family of English words that look quite different from one another, which is the most surprising part of the story. The root is Latin "armārium," a chest or cupboard for storing arms and implements, built from "arma" meaning "weapons" or "tools." That Latin word passed into Old French as "almarie," and English took it in Middle English as "almerie," sometimes written "aumer" in Anglo-Norman records. Over time the English form split, so that "armoire" came in as a French-shaped sibling, "almirah" arrived as a later Indian-English borrowing, and "ambry" survived in the church setting where the word first found its place.

Synonyms: aumbry, ambry, cupboard