lavatory

C1 Topic:House & Home

US /ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/ UK /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #18514

Meanings

1

noun
A room with a toilet, especially in formal or British usage.

Excuse me, could you tell me where the lavatory is?
2

noun
A toilet fixture itself.

The aircraft has a lavatory at the rear of the cabin.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a room with a toilet,... toilet bathroom

2 noun · a toilet fixture itself. flush toilet

More sink washbasin

Word family

Forms lavatories

Derived forms lavlavatoriallavvy

Related forms lavatorium

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

public lavatory
a toilet facility available for use by the public

Adjective + 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.

lavatorie Middle English lavātōrium la-lat lavō Latin lavadero Spanish

View etymology graph ->

Topics

House & Home Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# lavatory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 18514

## Meanings
1. A room with a toilet, especially in formal or British usage.
2. A toilet fixture itself.

## Examples
- Excuse me, could you tell me where the lavatory is?
- The aircraft has a lavatory at the rear of the cabin.

## Synonyms
- sink
- toilet
- washbasin

## Derived Forms
- lav
- lavatorial
- lavvy

## Related Forms
- lavatorium

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lavatorie
- Root: lavātōrium
- Root: lavō
- Root: lavadero

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Lavatory is 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. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. In present-day use, it can mean a room with a toilet, especially in formal or British usage, or a toilet fixture itself. Related forms include lavatorium. Derived formations include lav, lavatorial, lavvy.

## Topics
- House & Home
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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