charnel

[chahr-nl] /ˈtʃɑr nl/
noun
1.
a repository for dead bodies.
adjective
2.
of, like, or fit for a charnel; deathlike; sepulchral.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin carnāle, noun and adj. use of neuter of carnālis carnal
Can be confused
channel, Chanel, charnel.
Examples from the web for charnel
  • Another large mound supported a charnel or burial house.
  • Instead, they may have kept corpses in charnel houses until decomposition was well advanced, then buried the skeletons.
British Dictionary definitions for charnel

charnel

/ˈtʃɑːnəl/
noun
1.
short for charnel house
adjective
2.
ghastly; sepulchral; deathly
Word Origin
C14: from Old French: burial place, from Latin carnālis fleshly, carnal
Word Origin and History for charnel
adj.

late 14c., from Old French charnel (12c.) "fleshly," from Late Latin carnale "graveyard," properly neuter of adjective carnalis (see carnal). As an adjective from 1813. The Late Latin word was glossed in Old English as flæschus "flesh-house." Charnel house is attested from 1550s.