OSSUARY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ossuary mean? 

• OSSUARY (noun)
  The noun OSSUARY has 1 sense:

1. any receptacle for the burial of human bones

  Familiarity information: OSSUARY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OSSUARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any receptacle for the burial of human bones

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ossuary" is a kind of...):

receptacle (a container that is used to put or keep things in)

 Context examples 

The anthropological study of the remains, which are mixed together forming ossuaries, has shown that individuals of both genders and of all ages accessed to the funerary ritual, with little presence of children despite the high mortality rates.

(The necropolis of El Barranquete in Níjar (Almería), proven to have been used for funerary rituals throughout the Bronze Age, University of Granada)