morgue
/moɹɡ/noun
morgue is spelled M-O-R-G-U-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, morgue means “A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of morgue is morgues.
How many letters and syllables are in morgue?
| Letters | 6: M-O-R-G-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is morgue?
Morgue appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce morgue?
- UK /mɔːɡ/
- US /moɹɡ/
- US [mo̞ɹɡ]
Morgue has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-morgue.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-morgue.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of morgue
- morgues plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does morgue mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.
- 2
A building or room where dead bodies are kept before their proper burial or cremation, (now) particularly in legal and law enforcement contexts.
- 3
datedslangThe archive and background information division of a newspaper.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Morgue in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense place for dead people:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | morgue |
| German | Leichenhaus, Leichenschauhaus, Leichenhalle |
| Portuguese | necrotério, morgue |
| Spanish | morgue, depósito de cadáveres |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does morgue come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).