Ossuary

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɒsjʊəɹi/

Definitions

1. A location or vessel intended for the collection and preservation of human skeletal remnants
2. A site or receptacle designed to hold the bones of deceased persons for preservation
3. A structure or box used specifically to lodge human skeletal remains after decomposition

Etymology: Ossuary is a word that looks like it should be ancient, but its Latin roots point to a specific place rather than a general idea. The Late Latin "ossuārium" meant "charnel house," a building or chamber where bones were stored, and it was built from "os," meaning "bone," plus the adjectival suffix "-ārius," meaning "of or for." So the word is literally a "for-bones" place before it was ever a box. That shift from building to container is the heart of the word's story. A charnel house held bones that had been gathered after burial, often because graveyard space was scarce, and the name followed those remains. Over time the sense narrowed from the room to the receptacle that held the bones, whether a chamber cut into rock, a niche in a wall, or a small stone box.

Synonyms: bone repository, charnel house, sepulcher