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Glite Dictionary
columbary

columbary

9.9
A small building with many spaces where pigeons or doves nest
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒl.əm.bə.ri/
  • Archaic
translation icon : palomar
  • We restored the columbary in the garden as a home for doves.

Examples

  • The old estate still has a columbary where pigeons once nested.

  • The roof of the columbary needed repair after the storm.

  • The old columbary stood abandoned for years.

  • Many farmers build a columbary for their doves.

  • The old estate still has a columbary where pigeons once nested.

  • We restored the columbary in the garden as a home for doves.

  • Many farmers build a columbary for their doves.

Synonyms

dovecote
vscolumbary
1 8.8

A small building where pigeons or doves live

emphasizes internal compartments for nesting rather than being merely small
columbarium
vscolumbary
1 9.9

A place with small spaces in the walls for holding urns with ashes

focuses on housing birds with nesting compartments rather than storing human ashes

Surface Forms

columbary singular
columbaries plural

Morphology

columbary = columb + ary

The root 'columb-' is a Latin combining form (not a standalone English word) and the meaning 'dovecote' is not transparently recoverable by an average learner from the form.

Etymology

Columbary comes from the Latin columba, meaning 'dove', so it was originally a place for doves. Think of a columbary as a 'dove house' with many small nesting spaces for pigeons, which shows why it means a building to hold doves or pigeons.