Morgue

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /mɔːɡ/
• US IPA: /mɔɹɡ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(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

1. 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.
2. A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation.