Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mortuary \Mor"tu*a*ry\, n.; pl. {Mortuaries}. [LL. mortuarium.
   See {Mortuary}, a.]
   1. A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed
      by, and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a
      parishioner. It seems to have been originally a voluntary
      bequest or donation, intended to make amends for any
      failure in the payment of tithes of which the deceased had
      been guilty.

   2. A burial place; a place for the dead.

   3. A place for the reception of the dead before burial; a
      deadhouse; a morgue.