columbarium

[ kol-uhm-bair-ee-uhm ]

noun

, plural col·um·bar·i·a [kol-, uh, m-, bair, -ee-, uh].

1. a sepulchral vault or other structure with recesses in the walls to receive the ashes of the dead.
2. any one of these recesses.
3. columbary.

columbarium

/ ˌkɒləmˈbɛərɪəm /

noun

1. See dovecote
   another name for a dovecote
2. a vault having niches for funeral urns
3. a hole in a wall into which a beam is inserted

Word History and Origins

Origin of columbarium¹

1840–50; < Latin: literally, a nesting box for pigeons, equivalent to columb ( a ) pigeon, dove + -ārium -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of columbarium¹

C18: from Latin, from columba dove

Example Sentences

Space also is being carved out to build a columbarium and a scatter garden, where people can distribute ashes of their loved ones, Thomas said.

From Washington Post

Grace, a lawyer, and fellow Holy Trinity parishioner Jack Brady, an architect, proposed building a columbarium at Holy Rood.

From Washington Post

Thus they looked somewhat like the little entrances to a pigeon-house, and hence the name of Columbarium.

From Project Gutenberg

As the niche was like a dove's nest in shape, it was called a "columbarium," the whole tomb a "columbaria."

From Project Gutenberg

So as she still sat with shining eyes, dreaming again of that columbarium, I pressed to the next point.

From Project Gutenberg

Columbarium, literally a pigeon-house—a Roman sepulchre built in many compartments.

From Project Gutenberg

I well remember dreaming that I was a disused columbarium which had been converted into a brewery and was used as a greenhouse.

From Project Gutenberg