Definition

Noun: 1. A building or chamber used as a repository for human bones or corpses: A "charnel house" is a structure, often a vault, crypt, or small building, specifically designed to store human skeletal remains. Historically, these were used when burial space was limited, such as after a battle or plague, or as a permanent ossuary.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Archaeologists discovered a medieval charnel house beneath the old church.
  • The battlefield was so vast that they had to construct a temporary charnel house for the fallen soldiers.
  • The old charnel house in the cemetery contained the bones of centuries of villagers.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative / Literary Use: The term can be used metaphorically to describe a place associated with death, decay, or a large accumulation of the dead.
  • The bombed-out city was described as a charnel house in the journalist's report.

Variants and Related Words

• Charnel (adj): Pertaining to a charnel house; deathlike, sepulchral.
  • A charnel smell emanated from the crypt.
• Ossuary (n): A container or room for the bones of the dead; a close synonym.
• Crypt (n): An underground room or vault, often beneath a church, used as a chapel or burial place.
• Mausoleum (n): A stately or grand building used as a tomb.

Synonyms

• Ossuary
• Bone house
• Reliquary (specifically for sacred relics, but can include bones)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• None directly associated with the specific phrase "charnel house." The term itself is often used in historical, archaeological, or literary contexts to evoke a strong image of mortality.

Noun

1. a vault or building where corpses or bones are deposited