Meanings
plural feretories · alternative feretry
- A receptacle that houses relics of saints.
His remains were placed inside a new and rich feretory, on a platform behind the high altar.
2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 578Synonyms: reliquary
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA receptacle that houses relics of saints.
Origin
- Ancient Greekφέρετρον
- Latinferetrum“bier, funeral litter”
- Anglo-Normanfertre
- Middle Englishferetory
- Englishferetory
From Middle English feretory, fertre, feretre, et al., from Anglo-Norman fertre, from Latin feretrum (“bier, funeral litter”), from Ancient Greek φέρετρον (phéretron), from the verb φέρω (phérō, “to carry”). Doublet of feretrum.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
feretory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feretory
“feretory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feretory. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feretory,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feretory.
Source: feretory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.