columbarium
/ˌkɒləmˈbɛəɹi.əm/
"columbarium" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“columbarium” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large, sometimes architecturally impressive building for housing a large colony of pigeons or doves, particularly those of ancien regime France.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | columbarium |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkɒləmˈbɛəɹi.əm/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “columbarium” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
columbarium is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkɒləmˈbɛəɹi.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for columbarium, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin columbārium, from columba (“pigeon”) + -ārium (“place for”). The correct English form is columbarium, spelled C-O-L-U-M-B-A-R-I-U-M.
Definition
- 1A large, sometimes architecturally impressive building for housing a large colony of pigeons or doves, particularly those of ancien regime France.
- 2A pigeonhole in such a dovecote.
- 3A building, a vault or a similar place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns containing cremated remains.
- 4A niche in such a building for housing urns.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin columbārium, from columba (“pigeon”) + -ārium (“place for”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “columbarium”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-L-U-M-B-A-R-I-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɒləmˈbɛəɹi.əm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.