Leichenhaus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Leichenhaus, from Leiche (“corpse”) +‎ -n- +‎ Haus (“house”).

Noun

Leichenhaus (plural Leichenhauses)

1. (historical) A heated space with an attendant, where dead bodies were kept until they showed signs of decomposition, ensuring that a live person would not be buried; a waiting mortuary.
   • 1894, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, From Ponkapog to Pesth, page 35:

     The Leichenhaus is comprised of three large chambers or salons, in which the dead are placed upon raised couches and surrounded by flowers.

   • 2007, John Klima, Jeff VanderMeer, Elizabeth Hand, Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories, page 57:

     “Welcome to the Hillmont Leichenhaus,” said the attendant in a tired monotone. “Our Leichenhaus was built by the Society for the Prevention of Premature Burial, Hillmont branch. […] "

   • 2019, Caitlin Doughty, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs: Big questions from tiny mortals about death, page 42:

     Just be glad you're not an attendant at the Liechenhaus.

German

Etymology

Leiche (“corpse”) +‎ -n- +‎ Haus (“house”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ̯çn̩ˌhaʊ̯s/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Lei‧chen‧haus

Noun

Leichenhaus n (strong, genitive Leichenhauses, plural Leichenhäuser)

1. morgue, mortuary

   Synonym: Leichenhalle

Declension

Declension of Leichenhaus [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Leichenhaus	die	Leichenhäuser
genitive	eines	des	Leichenhauses	der	Leichenhäuser
dative	einem	dem	Leichenhaus, Leichenhause1	den	Leichenhäusern
accusative	ein	das	Leichenhaus	die	Leichenhäuser

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

• “Leichenhaus” in Duden online