# tower of silence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌtaʊɚ‿əv ˈsaɪl(ə)ns/

## Definitions
1. A low, cylindrical, open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate from exposure and consumption by carrion birds such as vultures, the remaining bones being kept in an ossuary.

## Etymology
Calque of French tour du silence, from the fact that human voices are generally not heard at such places.

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