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morgue

morgue [ mawrg ] (plural morgues)

noun

Definition:

1. place for dead bodies: a room or building usually run by a state or municipal government in which dead bodies are kept until they are autopsied or identified

2. dismal place: a gloomy place that lacks warmth or cheer ( informal )

3. press collection of information: a room or file in a newspaper office containing miscellaneous pieces of information kept for future reference, e.g. for writing obituaries

[Mid-19th century. < French Morgue, building in Paris]

Cultural Note


	The Murders in the Rue Morgue, a novel (1841) by writer Edgar Allan Poe. Regarded as the world's first detective story, it begins with the brutal murder of an old woman and her daughter, a crime that perplexes the police since the women's apartment is sealed from the inside. Amateur sleuth C. Auguste Dupin comes to their aid, providing an explanation based on a brilliant analysis of scattered clues.

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