# charnel

> English word · Noun · IPA [tʃɑːɹnəl] · frequency rank #89,220

## Definitions
1. A chapel attached to a mortuary.
2. A repository for dead bodies.

## Etymology
From Middle English charnel, from Old French charnel, carnel, from Late Latin carnāle (“graveyard”), from Latin carnālis, or possibly an alteration of Anglo-Norman charner, from Medieval Latin carnārium (“charnel”). Displaced Middle English fleshusse, from Old English flǣsċhūs.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/charnel