A morgue is a building or a room in a hospital where dead bodies are kept before they are buried or cremated, or before they are identified or examined.
morgue in British English1
(mɔːɡ)
noun
1. another word for mortuary (sense 1)
2. informal
a room or file containing clippings, files, etc, used for reference in a newspaper
Word origin
C19: from French la Morgue, a Paris mortuary
morgue in British English2
French (mɔrɡ)
noun
superiority; haughtiness
morgue in American English
(mɔrg)
noun
1.
a place where the bodies of unknown dead persons or those dead of unknown causes are kept to be examined, identified,etc. before burial or cremation
2. US
the collection of back numbers, photographs, clippings, etc. kept in the office of a newspaper, magazine, etc.
Word origin
Fr, morgue, earlier, identification room of a prison: orig., “haughty air” < dial.morre, snout: see moraine; (sense 2) so named in ref. to the dead news it contains
In other languages
morgue
British English: morgue /mɔːɡ/ NOUN
A morgue is a building or room where dead bodies are kept before being cremated or buried.