lavatory
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L323116 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/ / /ˈlæv.ə.təɹ.i/ / /ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/
adj
Etymology: From Latin lavātōrius.
- Washing, or cleansing by washing.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English lavatorie, from Late Latin lavātōrium, from Latin lavāre (“to wash”) + -ium (forming places related to an activity). As a place to pan gold, via Spanish lavadero. Doublet of lavatorium and laver. See also lave.
- A vessel or fixture for washing, particularly
“Whon he haþ vsed he walkeþ riht To Lauatorie þer hit is diht For to wassche his hende.”
“And thow shalt make a brasun lauatory with his foot to wasshe with.”
- A vessel or fixture for washing
- A vessel or fixture for washing
- A vessel or fixture for washing
- A vessel or fixture for washing
- A vessel or fixture for washing
- A vessel or fixture for washing
“Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.”
“Lavatories (bathroom sinks) are available in a blizzard of colors, materials, and styles.”
- Handwashing as an act, particularly
“Wᵗ condicion that at the tyme of the Lavatory eueryche of theym turne theym to the people, and exorte theym to pray for ye soules following...”
- Handwashing as an act, particularly
- Handwashing as an act, particularly
- A liquid used in washing; a lotion; a wash; a rinse.
“They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.”
- A washroom: a room used for washing the face and hands.
“Even the lavatory, a vestibule to the refectory through which the novices would pass on their way to the recreation room, boasted a painting cycle.”
- A room containing a toilet: a bathroom (US) or WC (UK).
“Americans don't know 'WC' and Brits mock 'bathroom' but everyone usually understands 'toilet' or 'lavatory'.”
“People needing to use the lavatory often ask to use the baño in a restaurant; toilet paper is rarely available, so the experienced traveler always carries a personal supply.”
- A plumbing fixture for urination and defecation: a toilet.
“In a traditional German lavatory, the hole in which shit disappears after we flush water is way in front, so that the shit is first laid out for us to sniff at and inspect for traces of some illness; in the typical French lavatory, on the contrary, the hole is in the back - that is, the shit is supposed to disappear as soon as possible; finally, the Anglo-Saxon (English or American) lavatory presents a kind of synthesis, a mediation between these two opposed poles - the basin is full of water so that the shit floats in it - visible, but not to be inspected.”
- A place to wash clothes: a laundry.
- A place where gold is panned.
- A paved room in a mortuary where corpses are kept under a shower of disinfecting fluid.