lavatoryn.
/ˈlavət(ə)ri/, U.S. /ˈlævəˌtɔri/ 1.
a. Originally: a bowl or other vessel for washing the hands or body. Later: a piece of furniture comprising such a bowl, as a washstand, vanity unit, etc.; (now chiefly) a bowl or basin fixed to the wall or mounted on a pedestal or counter, having a water supply and a drain; a sink, esp. one in a bathroom intended for washing the hands or face. Now chiefly North American.Chiefly Plumbing in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > other parts > [noun] > laver
lavatorya1382
laverc1394
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxx. 18 Þou schalt make a brasyn lauatory [L. labium aeneum] with his fote to wasche with.
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 509 (MED) Whon he haþ vsed, he walkeþ riht To Lauatorie þer hit is diht, ffor to wassche his hende.
a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 649/14 Hoc lauatorium, lavatory.
1538 Inventory in Archæologia (1888) 51 72 Itm the lavetarye of tynne and lead.
1637 Abp. J. Williams Holy Table ii. 50 Archimedes wash't in a brazen Lavatory, cryes out in an extasie, I have found it.
1746 Gen. Advertiser 13 Sept. A large marble sideboard table with lavatory and bottle cistern.
1876 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. (new ed.) III. 2726/2 Fig. 7043 illustrates various kinds of lavatories or wash-stand tops.
1882 Sanitarian Jan. 62 A combined lavatory or wash-stand and water-closet.
1904 Railway Engineer July 215/2 Beresford's combined folding lavatory and writing desk.
1945 W. J. Woolgar Pract. Plumber & Sanitary Engineer viii. 204 Lavatories can be supported on pedestals, brackets, or frames, or they can be built into a wall by means of a corbel cast on the basin.
2008 Compl. Guide Plumbing (Black & Decker) (ed. 4) 25 The 1¼″ pipe is for lavatories and doesn't have enough capacity for a kitchen sink.
b. Christian Church (esp. Roman Catholic Church). A bowl or basin used for ritual washing during the Eucharist or another ceremony (see sense 2a); esp. a permanent stone basin for this purpose in a church; (also) a piscina (piscina n. 2a). Cf. lavabo n. 1c, lavabo n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > vessel (general) > piscina > [noun]
laverc1394
lavatory1412
lavatory stone1487
piscine1489
piscina1734
sacrarium1848
lavabo1852
lavabo basin1855
aquamanile1875
1412 Catterick Church Contract in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) App. B. 488 An awter and a lauatory acordaunt in the este end.
1434 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) 507 (MED) Lavatoris in aither side of the wall, which shall serve for four auters.
a1500 in T. F. Simmons Lay Folks Mass Bk. (1879) 152 Whan the preste gothe to the lauatori.
1519 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 100 To be buried wtin the where, nyghte to the lavatori.
1657 J. Taylor Coll. Offices sig. L2 Pure water being provided and put into the Fount, or into a Lavatory of silver, or some other clean vessell, fit and decent for this sacred action.
?1795 T. D. Fosbroke Econ. Monastic Life 10 On the side of these [stalls by the high altar] is often a piscina or lavatory, (commonly a stone basin inserted in the wall..); in this the priest washed his hands before the consecration of the elements.
1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion II. iv. iii On a lavatory, below, sat a cherub.
1866 J. Purchas & F. G. Lee Directorium Anglicanum (ed. 3) 355 Lavatory, a water drain in the Sacristy where the Priest washes his hands before vesting.
1899 E. Grifi Saunterings in Florence (ed. 2) 337 The lavatory to the right of the entrance is a beautiful painted terracotta one by Luca della Robbia.
1917 A. De Zavala Hist. & Legends of Alamo 110 In the sacristy now are many objects of interest; the lavatory, the quaint cabinet in the thick walls, the crude and curious old candlesticks.
1995 Texas Monthly (Nexis) Nov. 112 In one corner is what looks like a traditional sacristy, where priests prepare and dress for mass. There is a compass on a golden pedestal..and a tall stone lavatory built chest-high.
c. A washing trough or fountain of a type provided in some medieval monasteries for the monks to wash at, typically consisting of a permanent stone basin or sink, either free-standing or built into a wall, with a water supply and a drain; (also) a similar stone trough or washbasin in another setting. Cf. lavabo n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > washing the hands > vessel for washing the hands (and face)
washela1375
laverc1394
washing-bowl1530
washpot1535
washing-basin1538
cistern1577
lavacre1657
lavatorya1676
chillumchee1715
wash-hand basin1760
wash-dish1805
washbasin1812
wash-bowl1816
chamber set1824
toilet bowl1850
wash-pan1851
lavatory basin1854
wash sink1857
lavatory bowl1872
wash-trough1902
pedestal basin1967
pedestal washbasin1967
vanity basin1972
w.h.b.1975
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > washing the hands > vessel for washing the hands (and face) > in a church or monastery
laverc1394
lavatorya1676
lavabo1832
lavabo basin1855
a1676 S. Gunton Hist. Church Peterburgh (1686) 18 He made in the South Cloister a Lavatory of Marble for the Monks to wash their hands in when they went to Meals.
1717 T. Abingdon Antiq. Cathedral Church Worcester p. xxiv The Lavatory in the Cloyster was supply'd from a Spring arising in Hinwick.
1798 J. Milner Hist. Civil & Eccl. Winchester I. 18 The arms and motto..are copied from the ancient lavatory in the interior court [of Winchester College].
1890 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Antiquaries Ireland 5th Ser. 1 83 [The building] contains a lavatory below, like a large font, and a cistern for water in the upper story.
1923 W. S. Davis Life Med. Barony xix. 319 At the entrance to the dining hall, just as in the castle, there is the lavatory, a great stone basin with many taps, convenient for washing the hands.
1951 H. Braun Eng. Mediaeval Archit. (1967) x. 192 Close to the doorway was the ‘lavatory’ where the monks washed their hands before going in to their meals.
2014 G. Micuła et al. Cyprus (rev. ed.) 149/2 The garth cloisters once contained a carved marble sarcophagus and a lavatory, where the monks washed their hands before entering the refectory.
a. Christian Church (esp. Roman Catholic Church). Frequently with capital initial in later use. A ritual washing of the celebrant's hands carried out as part of the Eucharist. Obsolete.The more usual term is lavabo (lavabo n. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > parts of service > post-communion > [noun] > cleansing of hands
lavatory1445
lotion1529
ablution1699
society > faith > worship > parts of service > offertory > [noun] > washing of hands during
lotion1529
ablution1699
lavabo1858
lavatory1896
1445 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 11 Quhat chapellane that servis, quhen he passis til the lauatory efter the Wangel, sal say for..thair faderis sawlis.
1513 Will of Robert Fabyan in R. Fabyan New Chrons. Eng. & France (1811) Pref. p. iv 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.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1121/1 When he had sayd Masse, he made Dukes & Earles..to holde the bason at the Lauatories.
1677 F. Sandford Geneal. Hist. Kings Eng. 454 The Cardinal sang Mass, before which, two Barons served him with Water, and after the Gospel, 2 Earls with Wine and Water, and at the last Lavatory, two Dukes performed the same service.
1741 J. Seacome Memoirs 35/2 Every Mass before the Lavatory audibly, to be said for the said Souls appointed by Name.
1896 F. E. Brightman Liturgies Eastern & Western I. Gloss. Lavatory, the handwashing on the part of the minister at the offertory... While the offertory either wholly or in part has been moved back to the beginning of the [Eastern] liturgy, the lavatory has generally kept its place.
1920 Jrnl. Theolog. Stud. 22 91 After the ‘Lavatory’..a prayer and proclamation of the deacon before the Kiss of Peace.
b. gen. The action or an act of washing. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [noun]
swillingc1000
washing?c1225
lavendrya1483
laundry1533
laving1611
lavatory1620
lavation1627
lavement1650
laver1671
lavament1823
lustration1826
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote xxxii. 211 The Duke and Duchesse..stood expecting what would become of this Lauatory [Sp. lauatorio].
1653 Bp. J. Taylor Ενιαυτος: Course of Serm. 49 The Jews..washed their garments, but that intended they should not be spotted with the flesh; and their follies consisted in this, that they did not looke to the bottome of their lavatories.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > bathing > vessel for bathing in
laver1340
washela1375
lavatory1447
baina1492
bath-fatc1540
bathing-tub1583
batha1616
tub1776
Moab1865
bath-tub1869
bath vat1874
bogy1893
society > faith > artefacts > furniture > font > [noun]
font-fatOE
fontOE
fontOE
cold watera1387
lavacre1548
christening font?c1603
lavatory1631
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 2560 Þe lauatorye me graunt of immortalite Here in þis watir.
c1475 Mankind (1969) 12 By hys gloryus passyon, þat blyssyde lauatorye.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Qvv As in the lauatory of grace, thou mayst wasshe..the..by confession.
1547 R. Smith Brief Treatyse iii. sig. I.i The holye lauatoryes do make happye the soules cleane.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 310 The lauatorie of holy regeneration.
a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 196 Converting it [sc. the Jordan] into the Lavatory of Baptisme.
1727 J. Emerson Important Duty Timely Seeking of God 19 Affliction is God's Lavatory.
1779 Gen. Advertiser 28 Dec. I shall wash it in the lavatory of reason.
1840 Dublin Rev. May 336 She [sc. the English Church] cast off her garments of defilement, plunged into the lavatory of the Reformation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines of specific form > lotion or bath > [noun]
lotion?a1425
lavatoryc1475
washing?1541
bath1542
lolion1549
lavament1598
lavature1601
irrigation1617
wash1626
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing agents > [noun] > water or solutions
watereOE
lyec1200
lavatoryc1475
lavament1598
lavature1601
loture1601
ablution1623
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > preparations used on the hair > [noun]
lye1556
lotium1595
lavature1601
wash1670
lavatory1694
hair-oil1810
marrow oil1855
hairdressing1907
haircare1935
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 77 If þat þe wounde be riȝt foul..þanne vse þis waischinge þat is riȝt profitable..a lauatorie.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos xxviii. sig. Hiij They muste be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.
?1543 T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot Regiment of Lyfe sig. Hv Ye maye mynister the lauatorie that here after ensweth.
?1575 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) 194 The oyntmentes you experimented, despiteth me: the bathes you proued, are tedious, and tormenteth mee: the lauatories you tasted, payneth me.
1665 G. Harvey Disc. Plague 14 Lavatories to wash the temples, hands, wrists, and Jugulars.
1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 19 Barbers use them for their grateful smell to perfume their lavatories and washes.
1769 E. Buys New & Compl. Dict. Terms Art II Lavatory, (in Medicine) some Liquor with which deceased [read diseased] Parts are washed.
1797 T. Connelly & T. Higgins Diccionario Nuevo y Completo de las Lenguas Española é Inglesa II. 11/3 Lavatory, a wash, something in which parts diseased are washed.
5.
a. A place, esp. a room, with facilities for washing oneself; spec. a building or structure housing the lavatories (sense 1c) in a monastery; = lavabo n. 3b. Now rare (chiefly in spec. use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > place for washing > room for washing in
lavatory1594
washing-room1838
washroom1854
Moab1865
salle d'eau?1957
1594 2nd Rep. Dr. Faustus xvii. sig. G3v Then Akercocke or Symionte, which yee wil, goes inuisibly into the Lauatory, where the great Villaine was bathing himselfe amongest three of his most faire Concubines starke naked.
a1721 C. Eyston in T. Hearne Hist. & Antiq. Glastonbury (1722) 65 There belonged three Offices to the Refectory, a little Lavatory, a Buttery, and the Cellar.
1775 Gentleman’s Mag. Apr. 179/1 My old acquaintance and I parted at the rotunda (which I suppose to have been the lavatory of the convent).
1825 E. Baines Hist. Lancaster II. 561 The play rooms, lavatory, drawing room, music room, and dancing gallery are also on this floor.
1864 Morning Star 2 Feb. There are separate lavatories for the men and for the women and children.
1871 Collectanea Archaeologica (Council Brit. Archaeol. Assoc.) II. 291 Of Mellifont church not one fragment remains; the chapter-house and lavatory are very perfect and remarkable.
1904 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 8 400 A larger octagonal thirteenth-century lavatory in the south-west corner of the cloister, within which was placed..a new octagonal laver, into which the water poured from twenty-four brass pipes.
1962 C. A. R. Radford St Dogmael's Abbey, Pembrokeshire 14 The only visible masonry older than 1300 is the Lavatory facing the cloister near the southwest corner. This consisted of an arched recess of three orders, of which the outermost has entirely disappeared.
2013 I. Reklaityte in S. M. Spence-Wood Hist. & Archaeol. Perspectives on Gender Transformations v. 95 The lavatory of the Great Mosque of Cordoba..was transformed into a hospital.
b. A room, cubicle, etc., having a toilet or toilets as well as washing facilities; = toilet n. 9a. to go to the lavatory: = to go to the toilet at toilet n. Phrases 1; cf. go v. 31a.Originally a euphemistic use of sense 5a; this and sense 5c are now the usual senses of the word. In the United Kingdom during the mid 20th cent. lavatory was designated as ‘U’ (upper-class) in contradistinction to toilet which was considered ‘non-U’; cf. toilet n. 9.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory
closet1496
water closet1736
water closet1747
throne room1787
W.C.1815
netty1825
convenience1841
Johnny1847
lavabo1852
restrooma1856
small room1858
cloakroom1865
lavatory1874
bathroom1883
toilet1886
can1900
place1902
lav1913
washroom1919
head1920
lavvy1922
dike1923
smallest room1930
John1931
khazi1932
loo1940
biffy1942
Wa1953
shitcan1954
commode1958
cludgie1961
1874 Engineering 12 June 427/3 Two unequal-sized lavatories, each containing a water-closet [in a railway carriage].
1897 Med. News 20 Mar. 373/2 In the basement there will be a free lavatory containing water closets, etc.
1908 North-China Herald 29 Aug. 555/1 The boy had vomited the medicine and had been to the lavatory twice.
1930 Motorboating Mar. 179 Spacious lavatory equipped with the latest sanitary fixtures.
1973 A. S. Neill Neill! Neill! Orange Peel! (rev. ed.) ii. 189 What did people use in the lavatory before the invention of paper?
2014 S. Pollock Deadly Turbulence xx. 193 Every time someone went to the lavatory, she was to enter the cockpit and spin the crank several times to flush the toilet.
c. A fixed receptacle into which a person can urinate or defecate; = toilet n. 9b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory > W.C. appliances
lavatory basin1854
suite1883
toilet1894
lavatory1903
lavatory bowl1915
throne1922
potty1937
plumbing1950
1903 Minutes Proc. School Board for London 2 July 121 It was argued for the Borough Council that every ‘lavatory’ meant ‘lavatory basins’;..it was argued for the Board that ‘lavatory’ meant a room or building which contained a range of wash basins, urinals. and w.c.'s.
1910 Times of India 15 July 10/ 6 (advt.) A specially constructed Glass Cylinder (A) fixed to the flush pipe (B) of any lavatory.
1949 D. Smith I capture Castle (1950) iii. 31 It had..two mahogany-seated lavatories, side by side, with one lid to cover them both.
1963 J. T. Story Something for Nothing iii. 106 Albert closed the door and sat down on the lavatory.
2008 Third Way May 35/2 Illegal parties where alcohol must be swiftly disposed of down the lavatory when the religious authorities arrive to raid the premises.
a. A place for washing clothes; a laundry. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > place where washing is done
lavendry1377
washing-house14..
bucking-stoke1483
laundry1577
wash-house1577
laundry-house1585
bucking-house1597
wash-yardc1625
lavatory1661
buck-house1738
woman-house1754
wash-kitchen1838
water-shed1859
washery1875
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) Lavatory,..a Laundry.
1794 London Recorder 26 Oct. Rules to be observed by every person employed at Beetham's Royal Lavatory..Whatever the head laundress desires to be done..is to be performed without delay, opposition or complaint.
1844 Times 7 Nov. 7/2 At the back of the workhouse there is a lavatory, or washhouse.
1875 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 13 Nov. 8/4 Some dispute had arisen between the parties, respecting some boys' clothing being sent to the lavatory.
1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 180 We landed at a floating lavatory, where the washerwomen were still beating the clothes.
b. A place in which gold is obtained by washing with water to separate it from soil, gravel, etc.; = lavadero n. Obsolete.Chiefly in South American contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > mine by type of operation
stream-work1586
opencast?a1650
lavatory1712
lavadero1717
coffin1778
whole working1842
open cut1848
dry- or wet-diggings1849
river diggings1850
placer digging1851
placer working1867
drift mine1882
strip mine1934
1712 R. Allen Ess. Trade to South-Sea 11 Rich Mines of Gold..some of which yield above two or three Castelano's per Negro a Day, and sometimes in the Lavatories, much more.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Lavatory, or Lavadero, a Name given to certain Places in Chili and Peru, where Gold is got out of Earth by Washing.
1788 J. Trusler Habitable World Described III. 88 With such gold [sc. gold alloy] the washing houses or lavatories are chiefly supplied.
1807 S. H. Wilcocke Hist. of Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres 210 Lavaderos, or lavatories, are places where gold is collected by washing the earth.
1920 A. H. Fay Gloss. Mining & Mineral Industry 390/2 Lavatory, a place where gold is obtained by washing.
c. A room attached to a mortuary, in which corpses are prepared for examination. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1860–4 Dict. Archit. (Archit. Publ. Soc.) Lavatory, a paved room, belonging to a dead-house, in which a corpse that is to be examined is kept under a shower of some disinfecting fluid.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 5).
lavatory attendant n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > lavatory attendant
lavatory attendant1871
1871 Liverpool Mercury 4 Sept. John Gardner..was fined 40s...for being drunk and disorderly, and assaulting Edward Dawson, lavatory attendant, at Lime-street railway station, last night.
1964 ‘R. Petrie’ Murder by Precedent i. 20 Lavatory attendants..aren't as likely to insure their lives as professional men.
2007 C. MacFarlane Real Gorbals Story (2009) xvii. 136 Another man who was taunted by the kids was the lavatory attendant at the public toilets in the centre of Gorbals Cross.
lavatory brush n.
ΚΠ
1892 Bazaar, Exchange & Mart 11 Apr. 619/2 To this very meagre allowance a lavatory-brush, a soft brush for the stained floors, a bass broom, and a furniture brush should be added.
1969 A. E. Lindop Sight Unseen xxix. 245 A bottle of bourbon..stood in the stand which usually held the lavatory brush.
2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 9 Aug. (features section) 15 A hotel refused to provide lavatory brushes in bathrooms, on the grounds of health and safety.
lavatory cleanser n.
ΚΠ
1921 Nash's & Pall Mall Mag. Aug. p. xvii, (advt.) ‘Harpic’, the only safe Lavatory Cleanser, gives a spotless, white sanitary bowl.
1974 T. Sharpe Porterhouse Blue ix. 87 A tin of lavatory cleanser caught his attention.
2011 J. Lewis Into Dust 195 His breath smelled of wintergreen gum. Like lavatory cleanser.
lavatory cubicle n.
ΚΠ
1927 Times 28 Apr. 8 (advt.) Exceptionally suitable for storerooms, bath and lavatory cubicles.
1965 Hawarden (Iowa) Independent 4 Mar. 1/2 Each room has its own lavatory cubicle.
2012 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 8 Jan. (Guide section) 7 The band changed their name after a friend saw the words ‘spandau ballet’ scrawled in a lavatory cubicle.
lavatory seat n.
ΚΠ
1899 Surveyor 19 May 655/1 Messrs. T. J. Syer & Co., 45 Wilson-street, Finsbury, E.C., were represented by joiners' tools, wood chimney pieces, and lavatory seats.
1929 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. 19 May 6/2 A bath mat of absorbent, towel-like material, and a pad of the same fabric used on the lavatory seat, repeat the soft green of the curtains.
2011 M. Osler Rain Tree v. 144 Footprints on a lavatory seat were puzzling until we realised that squatting was the natural position for defecation.
C2. With the sense ‘resembling or typical of a lavatory or lavatories’, as lavatory period, lavatory style n. and adj., etc.Sometimes facetiously applied to a supposed style of architecture, having features resembling those typical of public lavatories; cf. lavatorial adj. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [noun] > other styles
transition1730
pasticcio1750
symmetrophobia1809
rococo1835
flamboyantism1846
collegiate Gothic1851
vernacular architecture1857
Neo-Grec1867
modernism1879
wedding-cake1879
Queen Anne1883
Colonial Revival1889
Chicago school1893
Dutch colonial1894
English colonial1894
monumentalism1897
vernacular1910
international style1911
Churrigueresque1913
postmodernism1914
prairie style1914
rationalism1918
lavatory style1919
functionalism1924
Mudéjar1927
façadism1933
open plan1938
Wrenaissance1942
pseudo1945
brutalism1953
open planning1958
neo-Liberty1959
Queen Annery1966
Jugendstil1967
moderne1968
strip architecture1976
high-tech1978
1919 Times 7 June 11/1 A few houses have already been rebuilt—I regret to say in a ‘lavatory’ style quite unworthy of the opportunity which now presents itself for beautifying the town.
1944 J. Agate Red Letter Nights 141 Liliom commits suicide, and is projected into a celestial police court, the architecture of which is copied from the Early Lavatory style of the National Liberal Club.
1952 A. Christie They do it with Mirrors iii. 24 ‘It's pretty ghastly, really,’ said Gina cheerfully. ‘A sort of Gothic monstrosity. What Steve calls Best Victorian Lavatory period.’
1983 Rotarian May 30/1 If you hate ‘lavatory-style decor’, don't eat at Fran's.
1994 Toronto Star (Nexis) 6 Nov. c9 An excuse to cut out anything aesthetic and get back to the early lavatory style of the first subway on Yonge St.
2008 South China Morning Post (Nexis) 29 Mar. 14 Vast skyscrapers clad in lavatory-style tiles.
C3.
lavatory basin n. (a) = lavatory bowl n. 1; (b) = lavatory bowl n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > water-closet or lavatory > W.C. appliances
lavatory basin1854
suite1883
toilet1894
lavatory1903
lavatory bowl1915
throne1922
potty1937
plumbing1950
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing oneself or body > [noun] > washing the hands > vessel for washing the hands (and face)
washela1375
laverc1394
washing-bowl1530
washpot1535
washing-basin1538
cistern1577
lavacre1657
lavatorya1676
chillumchee1715
wash-hand basin1760
wash-dish1805
washbasin1812
wash-bowl1816
chamber set1824
toilet bowl1850
wash-pan1851
lavatory basin1854
wash sink1857
lavatory bowl1872
wash-trough1902
pedestal basin1967
pedestal washbasin1967
vanity basin1972
w.h.b.1975
1854 Bristol Mercury 19 Aug. 3/4 (advt.) This is the only Manufactory in the kingdom for the exclusive production of Plug, Closet, Sanatory, and Lavatory Basins of all descriptions.
1871 Notts. Guardian 29 Dec. 6/3 The effluvium accumulates in the sewers..and..the gases force their way through lavatory basins, closet valves, and places little suspected.
1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 321 ‘Vitrella’ should be used for cleaning all porcelain baths, lavatory basins, sinks.
1986 E. Hall in A. Limon et al. Home Owner Man. (ed. 2) iii. v. 390 Wash basins, or lavatory basins as they are referred to in builders merchants' catalogues.
2013 Spectator (Nexis) 3 Aug. 17 ‘Rate My Poo.com’, a favourite of my children from a few years ago, which simply consists of hundreds of photographs of variously filled lavatory basins.
lavatory chain n. a chain connected to an overhead cistern by which a toilet can be flushed.
ΚΠ
1930 Times 29 Sept. 9/7 A handkerchief round his neck was attached to a lavatory chain.
1965 Compar. Lit. Stud. 2 236 He then goes off stage, and we hear a lavatory chain being pulled, but the toilet does not flush.
2013 Alive (Nexis) 1 Apr. Contamination of hands takes place from soiled toilet-paper, lavatory-chains, door-handles and public towels.
lavatory humour n. = toilet humour n. at toilet n. Compounds 2; cf. lavatorial adj. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > humour > specific unsavoury
bathroom humour1935
lavatory humour1935
toilet humour1942
potty humour1969
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > low jesting or buffoonery > specific
lavatory humour1935
toilet humour1942
potty humour1969
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > other types of jest or joke
dry biscuit jest1600
kniff-knaff1683
private joke1789
jokelet1847
inside joke1849
wheeze1864
one-liner1904
lavatory joke1931
lavatory humour1935
sight gag1957
cruellie1959
in-joke1964
elephant joke1966
1935 Life Oct. 2/1 A routine Carroll show containing the usual lavatory humor.
1963 V. Nabokov Gift ii. 83 The lavatory humour and crude laughter.
2008 Times 22 Oct. 17/1 Lavatory humour is rife in British culture, but the provision of public toilets is no laughing matter.
lavatory joke n. = toilet joke n. at toilet n. Compounds 2; cf. lavatorial adj. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > other types of jest or joke
dry biscuit jest1600
kniff-knaff1683
private joke1789
jokelet1847
inside joke1849
wheeze1864
one-liner1904
lavatory joke1931
lavatory humour1935
sight gag1957
cruellie1959
in-joke1964
elephant joke1966
1931 Sat. Rev. 28 Nov. 689/1 A Victorian prostitute, and some lavatory jokes.
1954 N. Tomalin in Granta 6 Nov. 23/2 All in all the most amazing thing about the show is the preponderance of lavatory jokes.
2012 Sunday Times (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 5 Aug. Fat jokes, lavatory jokes, stale old jokes and desperately unfunny jokes come at you like bullets fired by a childish moron.
lavatory pan n. the bowl of a toilet.
ΚΠ
1871 Gen. Classif. of Goods by Merchandise Trains 11/1 in Regulations Railway Clearing House Jan. Earthenware Closet, Bath, Urinal, and Lavatory Pans.
1946 K. Tynan Let. 19 Mar. (1994) ii. 110 Come and see me immediately you have dropped this letter into the lavatory-pan.
2011 R. Rendell Tigerlily's Orchids (2012) xviii. 180 He dared not put the sheets down the lavatory pan lest he block the drains.
lavatory paper n. = toilet paper n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > lavatory paper
bum fodder1650
arsewipe1677
toilet paper1877
toilet roll1881
toilet tissue1887
lavatory paper1888
bumf1912
TP1940
asswipe1958
1888 Iron 31 Aug. 206/3 Lavatory paper holder.
1913 Miners Mag. 12 June 9/2 The capitalist press is not fit for lavatory paper.
1956 A. S. C. Ross in M. Black Importance of Lang. (1962) 103 Non-U toilet-paper / U lavatory-paper.
2014 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 27 Oct. 29 His grandfather invented soft lavatory paper and proposed to manufacture it.
lavatory sink n. now chiefly North American a sink or washbasin (typically in a bathroom) for washing the hands, face, etc.; cf. sense 1a.
ΚΠ
1869 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 14 May 486/2 There were several water-closets and lavatory sinks on the upper floors.
1949 Evening Standard (Uniontown, Pa.) 18 Nov. 18/5 Pedestal lavatory sinks—$7.50 ea.
2008 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 1 Nov. j7 The St. Tropez lavatory sink measures approximately 90 x 40 x 8 centimetres.
lavatory stone n. a stone forming a lavatory or part of a lavatory; spec. (in early use) †a stone lavatory in a church or monastery (see senses 1b, 1c) (obsolete); (now chiefly) a carved stone slab of a type found at some ancient Buddhist monasteries, having a hole apparently to be used as a urinal. [In later use with reference to Sri Lanka after Sinhala mūtragala (plural mūtragal ; compare quot. 1914) < Sanskrit mūtra urine + Sinhala gala stone.]
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > implement (general) > vessel (general) > piscina > [noun]
laverc1394
lavatory1412
lavatory stone1487
piscine1489
piscina1734
sacrarium1848
lavabo1852
lavabo basin1855
aquamanile1875
1487–8 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1901) III. 651 4or spultes cum 1 lavatory stone.
1914 Archaeol. Surv. Ceylon Ann. Rep. 1912–13 651 The only ornamental stone sculpture..is on the lavatory stones, or mutra-gal, four of which have been found in situ.
1993 B. N. Bell & H. M. Bell H. C. P. Bell 129 The buildings were all very plain and unornamented, with the exception of the highly decorated lavatory stones.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† lavatoryadj.
Obsolete.
Of or relating to washing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > [adjective]
lavatory1620
lavatorial1828
lustrative1875
lavational1887
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote xxxii. 218 Your Lauatory custome [Sp. la costumbre del lauatorio] heere, is worse then Penitentiaries.
1844 Monthly Rev. May 78 It was usual to make lye-water for lavatory purposes in the olden days when laundresses were washerwomen.
1865 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire (new ed.) VIII. lxvi. 217 The latter..contrasts the lavatory resources of Rome with those of Grecian cities generally.
1890 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 358 His linen long-coat is a perfect marvel of the lavatory art,..so snowy white is it.
1919 H. B. Young in M. Van Rensselaer et al. Man. Home-making iii. 100 It is not the province of the kitchen to provide space for eating, for washing and ironing clothes, for lavatory purposes..or for passageway from the back of the house to the front.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.a1382
adj.1620- get the rap
- get the razoo
- get the razzle
- get the razzle-dazzle
- get the razzledazzle
- get the re-rub
- get the rear of
- get the rerub
- get the right end of the stick
- get the right side of someone
- get the ring
- get the rough end of the pineapple
- get the rough end of the stick
- get the route
- get the run
- get the run on
- get the run upon
- get the rush
- get the rush on a ball
- get the sack
- get the scent
- get the score
- get the scorn
- get the screaming meemies
- get the seed furrow