morgue

morgue · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A place, usually in a hospital or at a police station, where dead bodies are kept before identification or burial.

  2. 2.

    (journalism) A reference file of old articles and clippings in a newspaper office.

Forms

plural: morgues

Related words

See also: cemetery, funeral, mortuary
Synonyms: mortuary

Etymology

From French morgue (originally the name of a building in Paris where bodies were kept for identification), possibly from morgue ("haughtiness, arrogance"), referring to the expression on the faces of corpses or the stern demeanor of officials.