Ossuary
/ˈɒs.juˌɛr.i/noun
A container, room, or building used to store bones, especially human bones.
Did you know?Ossuary comes from Latin ossuarium, from os/ossis meaning “bone,” and the same root gives us the scientific word ossify — literally “to turn to bone.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁ost- / *h₃ost-
“A reconstructed root for “bone” in early Indo-European languages.”
Latin
Latin
os, ossis
“Bone.”
Late Latin
Latin
ossuarium
“A place or container for bones.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
ossuarium
“An ossuary; a bone repository, often linked with burial practices.”
Early Modern English
English
ossuary
“A place for the storage of bones, especially human bones.”
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