English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French morgue. The second sense developed from the first, via "a prison examination room", probably with reference to the haughty attitude of the jailers.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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morgue (plural morgues)

  1. (archaic) A supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.
    • 1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, Dover, published 1964, page 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, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.
    Coordinate terms: deadhouse, mortuary
  3. (archaic) The archive and background information division of a newspaper.
    • 1921 July 2, Joseph F. Kwapil, Fourth Estate, page 5:
      Librarian Talks of Newspaper Morgue
    • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 109:
      Shand: get down to the Record and the Trib. See what they've got on Elliot in their morgues.

Translations

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Further reading

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French

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Noun

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morgue f (plural morgues)

  1. morgue, mortuary (place where dead bodies are stored)
  2. morgue, coldness, disdain, arrogance (supercilious attitude)

Descendants

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  • Portuguese: morgue
  • Turkish: morg

Further reading

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Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from French morgue.[1]

Noun

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morgue m (plural morgues)

  1. morgue
    Synonym: necrotério

Etymology 2

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Verb

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morgue

  1. inflection of morgar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

References

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  1. ^ morgue”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 20032024

Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French morgue.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmoɾɡe/ [ˈmoɾ.ɣ̞e]
  • Rhymes: -oɾɡe
  • Syllabification: mor‧gue

Noun

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morgue f (plural morgues)

  1. morgue

Further reading

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