cinerarium
/ˌsɪnəˈɹɛəɹi.əm/
cinerarium means A place or receptacle for depositing the ashes of cremated people. It carries an Arena rating of 1441, earned across 31 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cinerarium ranks #597 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,056 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,418 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,990 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
cinerarium is pronounced /ˌsɪnəˈɹɛəɹi.əm/.
Why “cinerarium” is a great word
CINERARIUM — [Noun] A niche, vault, or other dedicated repository for the ashes of the cremated. From Latin cinerarium, from ciner-, cinis ("ashes") + -arium ("place for"). First attested in English circa 1880. Unlike a columbarium, which is an architectural wall of many niches, or an urn, which is the vessel itself, a cinerarium is the encompassing concept of final ash repository. It is the cool marble slot in a sun-dappled cloister, the private cedar box on a home altar, the anonymous drawer in a municipal vault—a quiet geometry built to contain what fire and air have dispersed, the architecture of absence where dust is asked to stay.
Etymology
Latin cinerarium.
noun
- A place or receptacle for depositing the ashes of cremated people.e.g.“They were called ossuaria, from their containing bones,—cineraria, in reference to their containing ashes,—or ollæ, pots; these had generally a narrow pointed bottom.” — 1842, Charles Wellbeloved, Eburacum, or York under the Romans, page 100:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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