lavatory
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lavatory¹
- /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/ UK
- /ˈlæv.ə.təɹ.i/ UK
- /ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun lavatories · lavat'ry
- A vessel or fixture for washing, particularly Whon he haþ vsed he walkeþ riht To Lauatorie þer hit is diht For to wassche his hende.
- A laver: a washbasin.
- A bathtub.
- A piscina: the basin used for washing communion vessels.
- A lavabo: the basin used for washing one's hands before handling the Eucharist.
- A baptismal font: the basin used for baptism, used figuratively for the washing away of sins.
- A plumbing fixture used for washing: a sink. Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.
- Handwashing as an act, particularly 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...
- The lavabo: the ritual washing of hands before handling the eucharist.
- The ritual washing of hands after using the piscina to clean the communion vessels.
- A liquid used in washing; a lotion; a wash; a rinse. They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.
- A washroom: a room used for washing the face and hands. 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.
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A room containing a toilet: a bathroom (US) or WC (UK).
Americans don't know 'WC' and Brits mock 'bathroom' but everyone usually understands 'toilet' or 'lavatory'.
Similar: bathroom
- A plumbing fixture for urination and defecation: a toilet. 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 supp
- A place to wash clothes: a laundry.
- A place where gold is panned.
- A paved room in a mortuary where corpses are kept under a shower of disinfecting fluid.
lavatory²
- /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/ UK
- /ˈlæv.ə.təɹ.i/ UK
- /ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/ US
Where it comes from
From Latin lavātōrius.
adjective
- Washing, or cleansing by washing.
Thesaurus
Talk about this word "lavatory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lavatory. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. lavatory. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lavatory "lavatory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lavatory.Cite this
@misc{lavatory_2026,
title = {lavatory},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lavatory},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
