Columbarium
/ˌkɒl.əmˈbɛə.ri.əm/noun
A structure with niches for storing cremation urns or, historically, a dovehouse.
Did you know?Columbarium comes from Latin *columbarium* (“dovecote”), from *columba* (“dove”), and the burial-niche sense arose because the little wall compartments looked like rows of birdholes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kolombos
“dove, pigeon”
Latin
Latin
columba
“dove, pigeon”
Latin
Latin
columbarium
“dovecote; place for doves”
Late Latin / Roman
Latin
columbarium
“a wall with small niches, likened to a dovecote”
17th–19th Century
English
columbarium
“a chamber or wall of niches for funerary urns”