toilet

English Online Dictionary. What means toilet‎? What does toilet mean?

English

Alternative forms

• toilette (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)

2. (UK, Australia, Hong Kong) A room or enclosed area containing a fixture used for urination and defecation; a bathroom or water closet. [from 19th c.]
   1. (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

4. 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

5. (figuratively) A very shabby or dirty place. [from 20th c.]
6. (obsolete) A covering of linen, silk, or tapestry, spread over a dressing table in a chamber or dressing room. [17th–19th c.]
7. (obsolete) The table covered by such a cloth; a dressing table. [17th–19th c.]
8. (now historical or archaic) Personal grooming; the process of washing, dressing and arranging the hair. [from 17th c.]
9. (now rare, archaic) One's style of dressing: dress, outfit. [from 18th c.]
10. (archaic) A dressing room. [from 19th c.]
11. (obsolete) A chamber pot.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:chamber pot

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.

Derived terms

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: toilet
• → Japanese: トイレット, トイレ

Translations

Verb

toilet (third-person singular simple present toilets, present participle toileting or toiletting, simple past and past participle toileted or toiletted)

1. (dated) To dress and groom oneself.
2. To use (urinate or defecate in) a toilet.
3. To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet.

   Synonym: bathroom

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Further reading

• toilet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Eliott, Lottie, litote

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

1. (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)

1. toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory)

   Synonym: wc

2. toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation)

Inflection

Derived terms

Related terms

Dutch

Etymology

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)

1. toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory)

   Synonyms: privaat, wc

2. toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation)

   Synonym: wc

3. personal grooming

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Indonesian: toilet

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch toilet, from Old French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoi̯.lɛt̚/
• Hyphenation: toilèt

Noun

toilèt (first-person possessive toiletku, second-person possessive toiletmu, third-person possessive toiletnya)

1. toilet, bathroom (room containing a lavatory)
2. toilet (fixture used for urination and defecation)

   Synonyms: jamban, kakus, peturasan, tandas, WC

3. personal grooming

Further reading

• “toilet” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, 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

1. toilet