-orium

A place for a particular function.

Latin neuter ending of words in ‑orius.

Examples from a small group include crematorium (Latin, from cremare, burn), a place where a dead person's body is cremated; auditorium (Latin, neuter of auditorius, relating to hearing), the part of a theatre or concert hall in which the audience sits; sanatorium (Latin sanare, heal), an establishment for the medical treatment of people who are convalescing or have a chronic illness. Though moratorium, a temporary prohibition of an activity, was created on the same model (Latin neuter moratorius, delaying) it does not share the sense of the others; emporium, a large retail store, derives through Latin from Greek emporion, market. See also ‑ory¹ and ‑ium.