toilet

== English == === Alternative forms === toilette (archaic, certain senses only) === Etymology === From Middle French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”), from their use to protect clothing while shaving or arranging hair. From its use as a private room, toilet came to refer euphemistically to lavatories and then to its fixtures, beginning in the United States in the late 19th century. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtɔɪ.lət/, /ˈtɔɪ.lɪt/ Rhymes: -ɔɪlɪt Hyphenation: toi‧let === Noun === toilet (plural toilets) (UK, India, Australia, Hong Kong) A room, enclosed area or single-purpose building containing a fixture or fixtures used for urination and defecation; a bathroom or water closet. [from 19th c.] (New Zealand) A small secondary lavatory having a fixture used for urination and defecation and sink but no bathtub or shower. Synonyms: (US) half bath, half bathroom, (UK) cloakroom A fixture used for urination and defecation, particularly one with a large bowl and ring-shaped seat which uses water to flush the waste material into a septic tank or sewer system. [from 19th c.] Synonyms: see Thesaurus:toilet (figuratively) A very shabby or dirty place. [from 20th c.] (obsolete) A covering of linen, silk, or tapestry, spread over a dressing table in a chamber or dressing room. [17th–19th c.] (obsolete) The table covered by such a cloth; a dressing table. [17th–19th c.] (now historical or archaic) Personal grooming; the process of washing, dressing and arranging the hair. [from 17th c.] (now rare, archaic) One's style of dressing: dress, outfit. [from 18th c.] (archaic) A dressing room. [from 19th c.] (obsolete) A chamber pot. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:chamber pot (incel slang, derogatory) A woman. 2021, anonymous, quoted in Hugo Engholm, "The lack of looks: A study on the Incel ideology of Incelism during the 2010s–2020s and its relation to historical and contemporary ideologies particularly within far right milieus", thesis submitted to the University of Uppsala, page 72: “I’m not interested in toilets and I don’t think a gf [Girlfriend] is needed to live a fulfilling life.” 2022, Elina Maaranen, "How incel users' communication discriminate women", thesis submitted to Karlstad University, page 24: A user, @blacklister, concludes that “toilets are as vacuous as their value besides pleasing men”, with a remark on how women should be handed out by the state to every man to minimise inceldom. 2023, "TheShingTard", quoted in Emma Catherine Leger, "'Misogyny is self defense': A critical analysis of Incel discourse and belief on Incels.is", thesis submitted to Carleton University, page 104: I can’t bare listening to a toilet talk. I don’t wanna listen to toilet songs,or watch them in movies. They have nothing to offer other than sexuality For more quotations using this term, see Citations:toilet. ==== Usage notes ==== In the United States and Canada, toilet refers most directly to fixtures for containing or removing human waste. As such, although toilet was originally a euphemism itself, its use to describe the place where the toilets are located (e.g., "Where is the toilet?") is now considered somewhat indiscreet; instead, it is more common to employ other euphemisms such as bathroom, restroom, or WC. Until the late 19th century, toilet referred solely to personal grooming, including bathing and hair care. This still appears in toiletries and in various set phrases, such as toilet water and toilet bag. This use is sometimes understood as a new borrowing from French, despite being the older sense of the English word. Medical jargon also includes some set phrases such as pulmonary toilet and toilet of the mouth; in both cases the word toilet means general hygiene. In the UK, toilet is a direct-sounding, though not vulgar, word for the fixture or the room or building containing it. Loo is a common informal word with a softer feel. Lavatory is a polite-sounding word, verging towards pedantic in ordinary everyday use. Public toilets may also be called public conveniences or WC (both usually on signs rather than in spoken language), or referred to as the gents (for men) or the ladies (for women). US euphemisms restroom and bathroom are little-used in the UK, except the latter potentially when the toilet fixture is literally in the bathroom of a house. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Australian Kriol: toilet → Japanese: トイレット (toiretto), トイレ (toire) → Krio: tɔylɛt → Tok Pisin: toilet ==== Translations ==== === Verb === toilet (third-person singular simple present toilets, present participle toileting or (rare) toiletting, simple past and past participle toileted or (rare) toiletted) (dated) To dress and groom oneself. To use (urinate or defecate in) a toilet. To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. Synonym: bathroom === References === James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Toilet”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC. === Further reading === toilet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === Eliott, Lottie, litote == Australian Kriol == === Alternative forms === toilit === Etymology 1 === From English toilet. ==== Noun ==== toilet toilet excrement (either faeces or urine) ===== Derived terms ===== raning toilet (diarrhea) === Etymology 2 === Pseudo-anglicism; from English toilet. ==== Verb ==== toilet to defecate or urinate == Chinese == === Alternative forms === toile === Etymology === From English toilet. The pronunciation toi1 ji4 le4 is probably from Japanese トイレ (toire), in turn from English toilet. === Pronunciation === === Noun === toilet (Hong Kong Cantonese) toilet, bathroom ==== Synonyms ==== == Danish == === Etymology === From Old French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /toalɛt/, [tˢoaˈlɛd̥]; /tɔilɛt/, [tˢʌiˈlɛd̥] === Noun === toilet n (singular definite toilettet, plural indefinite toiletter) toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory) Synonym: wc toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation) ==== Inflection ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== == Dutch == === Etymology === Borrowed from Middle French toilette, from Old French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /tʋaːˈlɛt/ Rhymes: -ɛt Hyphenation: toi‧let === Noun === toilet n (plural toiletten, diminutive toiletje n) toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory) Synonyms: privaat, wc toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation) Synonym: wc personal grooming ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Indonesian: toilet == Indonesian == === Etymology === From Dutch toilet, from Old French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”). === Pronunciation === (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈtoi̯lɛt/ [ˈt̪oi̯.lɛt̪̚] Rhymes: -oi̯lɛt Syllabification: toi‧let === Noun === toilèt (plural toilet-toilet) toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory) toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation) Synonyms: jamban, kakus, peturasan, tandas, WC personal grooming === Further reading === “toilet”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016 == Tok Pisin == === Etymology === From English toilet. === Noun === toilet toilet ==== Synonyms ==== haus pekpek liklik haus smolhaus ==== Derived terms ==== pepa bilong toilet (“toilet paper”) toilet pepa (“toilet paper”)