lavatory
noun /ˈlævətri/
/ˈlævətɔːri/
(plural lavatories)
(old-fashioned or formal)- (especially British English) a toilet, or a room with a toilet in it
- There's a bathroom and a lavatory upstairs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- gents’
- ladies’
- …
- go to
- use
- visit
- …
- bowl
- chain
- cistern
- …
- in the lavatory
- on the lavatory
- (British English) a public building or part of a building, with toilets in it
- The nearest public lavatory is at the station.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- gents’
- ladies’
- …
- go to
- use
- visit
- …
- bowl
- chain
- cistern
- …
- in the lavatory
- on the lavatory
Word Originlate Middle English: from late Latin lavatorium ‘place for washing’, from Latin lavare ‘to wash’. The word originally denoted something in which to wash, such as a bath or pool for bathing, later (mid 17th cent.) a room with washing facilities; the current sense dates from the 19th cent.