Noun: lavatory
| Singular | lavatory |
| Plural | lavatories |
Sample Sentences
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Whon he haþ vsed he walkeþ riht
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To Lauatorie þer hit is diht
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For to wassche his hende. [a. 1375, Lay Folks Mass Book, Appendix iv, p. 606:]
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And thow shalt make a brasun lauatory with his foot to wasshe with. [1382, Bible (Wycliffe), Exod. 30:18]
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Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.
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Lavatories (bathroom sinks) are available in a blizzard of colors, materials, and styles. [2005, Michael W. Litchfield, Renovation, page 325:]
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Anywhere a water closet is used, a lavatory (ie, hand-washing sink) must also be installed. [2011, Sharon Koomen Harmon et al., The Codes Guidebook for Interiors, page 288:]
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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... [1513, Robert Fabyan, last will and testament]
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They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye. [1490, Publius Vergilius Maro, chapter XXVIII, in William Caxton, transl., The Boke yf Eneydos, page 110:]
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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. [2003, Gauvin A. Bailey, Between Renaissance and Baroque: Jesuit Art in Rome, 1565-1610, page 61:]
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Americans don't know 'WC' and Brits mock 'bathroom' but everyone usually understands 'toilet' or 'lavatory'.
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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. [2003, Rob Rachowiecki et al., Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, page 44:]
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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. [2014, “Verbatim Comments”, in Corey, Canapary & Galanis, editor, Caltrain 2014 On-Board Survey, Caltrain, retrieved 30 Jul 2023, page 1:]
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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. [1997, Slavoj Žižek, The Plague of Fantasies, page 4:]
Nouns inflected like lavatory
clitoridectomy,
royal jelly,
whoopsy,
surrogacy,
urinary,
rastrography,
renoscopy,
sourtop blueberry,
forcible entry,
superficiary,
lipidosity,
potability,
phonography,
hyperproperty,
greenery,
conjugality,
ring singularity,
Brittany,
ignobility,
obscurity, etc. (List truncated at 20 nouns)
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. See: Middle English Nouns '
lavatorie', Latin Nouns '
lavō', Spanish Nouns '
lavadero'.
Verbs referencing "lavatory"
French Nouns
lavatory.