lavatory
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: Christianity
business
construction
manufacturing
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.
Inflected forms:
form: lavatories
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: lavat'ry
pos: noun
tags: alternative
pronunciation-spelling
Senses:
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing, particularly
pos: noun
tags: formal
examples: 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.
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: formal
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: archaic
formal
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: formal
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: formal
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
formal
usually
gloss: A vessel or fixture for washing
pos: noun
tags: formal
examples: Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.
Lavatories (bathroom sinks) are available in a blizzard of colors, materials, and styles.
Anywhere a water closet is used, a lavatory (ie, hand-washing sink) must also be installed.
gloss: Handwashing as an act, particularly
pos: noun
tags: formal
examples: 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...
gloss: Handwashing as an act, particularly
pos: noun
tags: formal
gloss: Handwashing as an act, particularly
pos: noun
tags: formal
gloss: A liquid used in washing; a lotion; a wash; a rinse.
pos: noun
tags: formal
obsolete
examples: They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.
gloss: A washroom: a room used for washing the face and hands.
pos: noun
tags: dated
formal
examples: 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.
gloss: A room containing a toilet: a bathroom (US) or WC (UK).
pos: noun
tags: euphemistic
formal
examples: 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.
THE RESTROOM ON THE OLDER TRAINS ARE TOO SMALL FOR AN ADULT. ONE CAN'T USE THE TOILET WITHOUT CONSTANTLY ELBOWING THE WALL. AIRPLANES HAVE LARGER LAVATORIES AND A BETTER USEABLE FAUCET.
gloss: A plumbing fixture for urination and defecation: a toilet.
pos: noun
tags: New-England
UK
formal
examples: 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.
gloss: A place to wash clothes: a laundry.
pos: noun
tags: dated
formal
gloss: A place where gold is panned.
pos: noun
tags: formal
obsolete
gloss: A paved room in a mortuary where corpses are kept under a shower of disinfecting fluid.
pos: noun
tags: formal
obsolete
Synonyms: washbasin
sink
toilet
Related words: lavatorium
Derived words: lav
lavatorial
lavatory attendant
lavatory basin
lavatory bowl
lavatory brush
lavatory chain
lavatory cleanser
lavatory humor
lavatory joke
lavatory pan
lavatory paper
lavatory period
lavatory room
lavatory seat
lavatory stone
lavatory style
lavvy
Translations: