feretory

English

Feretories in the church of Saint Bartholomew in Andrzejewo, Poland

Alternative forms

• feretry

Etymology

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.

Noun

feretory (plural feretories)

1. A receptacle that houses relics of saints.

   Synonym: reliquary

   • 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 578:

     His remains were placed inside a new and rich feretory, on a platform behind the high altar.

2. An area of a church where relics are kept.