Morgue
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /mÉ”ËÉ¡/
- US IPA: /mɔɹɡ/
- Rhymes: -É”Ë(r)É¡
Origin
Borrowing from fr {{2}} morgue. The second sense developed from the first, via "a prison examination room", probably with reference to the haughty attitude of the jailers.
Full definition of morgue
Noun
morgue
(plural morgues)- A supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.
- 1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, Dover 1964, p. 34:They being newcomers, free from the western morgue so soon caught by Oriental Europeans, were particularly civil to me, even wishing to mix me a strong draught; but I was not so fortunate with all on board.
- A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation.