Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

morgue

/moɹɡ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.08 in modern English

Syllables: morgue
IPA: /moɹɡ/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.

Archaic

noun

A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.

noun

The archive and background information division of a newspaper.

Dated; Slang

Example Sentences

"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."
"Librarian Talks of Newspaper Morgue"
"Shand: get down to the Record and the Trib. See what they've got on Elliot in their morgues."

Etymology

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.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: morgue

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /moɹɡ/
British English: /mɔːɡ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

morgues (plural)

Derived Forms

Baltimorgue morguelike

Frequently Paired Words

deadhouse mortuary

Synonyms

mortuary dead room

Rhymes With

org borg bourg laforge sorg forgue bjorge warg

Questions

How do you pronounce morgue?: The recorded pronunciation is /moɹɡ/.
What does morgue mean?: A supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.
Where does morgue come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce morgue

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “morgue”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/moɹɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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