columnbarium

[Herb Stahlke]

I thought I had posted on this before, but a search of the ADS-L
archives and of the Eggcorn Database turned up nothing.

A columbarium is a dove-cote or pigeon house but alse means an
underground tomb with niches for cineraria or the niches themselves.
The word gets 592k raw googits.  Mortuaries have been building what
might be called columned patios or memorial gardens that they call a
"columnbarium," sometimes containing niches for cineraria.
"Columnbarium" gets 1360 raw googits, Woodlawn Cemetery has the
following description that uses both spellings:

Columbariums. A Columnbarium is a building or structure where niche
space may be selected. Like all Woodlawn mausoleums, our Columbariums
are constructed of granite, glass, marble and bronze.

The term is also used for a head stone with columns, and in at least
one case the word is written "column barium" making the sense of the
reanalysis clear even though there is no meaning for "barium,"
certainly not the element.

Perhaps an eggcorn.

Herb

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