lavatory

plural lavatories · alternative pronunciation spelling lavat'ry

1. formalA vessel or fixture for washing, particularly

   And thow shalt make a brasun lauatory with his foot to wasshe with.

   1382, Bible (Wycliffe), Exod. 30:18

   1 more example

   Whon he haþ vsed he walkeþ riht To Lauatorie þer hit is diht For to wassche his hende.

   a. 1375, Lay Folks Mass Book, Appendix iv, p. 606

2. A vessel or fixture for washing
   1. formalA laver: a washbasin.
   2. archaicformalA bathtub.
   3. formalChristianityA piscina: the basin used for washing communion vessels.
   4. formalChristianityA lavabo: the basin used for washing one's hands before handling the Eucharist.
   5. figurativelyformalusuallyChristianityA baptismal font: the basin used for baptism, used figuratively for the washing away of sins.
   6. formalinterior designbusinessA plumbing fixture used for washing: a sink.

      Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.

      2 more examples

      Lavatories (bathroom sinks) are available in a blizzard of colors, materials, and styles.

      2005, Michael W. Litchfield, Renovation, page 325

      Anywhere a water closet is used, a lavatory (ie, hand-washing sink) must also be installed.

      2011, Sharon Koomen Harmon et al., The Codes Guidebook for Interiors, page 288

3. formalHandwashing 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...

   1513, Robert Fabyan, last will and testament

   1. formalChristianityThe lavabo: the ritual washing of hands before handling the eucharist.
   2. formalChristianityThe ritual washing of hands after using the piscina to clean the communion vessels.
4. formalobsoleteA liquid used in washing; a lotion; a wash; a rinse.

   They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.

   1490, Publius Vergilius Maro, chapter XXVIII, in William Caxton, transl., The Boke yf Eneydos, page 110

5. datedformalA 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.

   2003, Gauvin A. Bailey, Between Renaissance and Baroque: Jesuit Art in Rome, 1565-1610, page 61

6. euphemisticformalA 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'.

   2 more examples

   People needing to use the lavatory often ask to use the baño in a restaurant; toilet paper is rarely available, so the experienced traveler always carries a personal supply.

   2003, Rob Rachowiecki et al., Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, page 44

   THE RESTROOM ON THE OLDER TRAINS ARE TOO SMALL FOR AN ADULT. ONE CAN'T USE THE TOILET WITHOUT CONSTANTLY ELBOWING THE WALL. AIRPLANES HAVE LARGER LAVATORIES AND A BETTER USEABLE FAUCET.

   2014, “Verbatim Comments”, in Corey, Canapary & Galanis, editor, Caltrain 2014 On-Board Survey, Caltrain, retrieved 30 Jul 2023, page 1

   Synonyms: bathroom

7. NortheasternUKUSformalA plumbing fixture for urination and defecation: a toilet.

   1 more example

   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 supposed to disappear as soon as possible; finally, the Anglo-Saxon (English or American) lavatory presents a kind of synthesis, a mediation between these two opposed poles - the basin is full of water so that the shit floats in it - visible, but not to be inspected.

   1997, Slavoj Žižek, The Plague of Fantasies, page 4

8. datedformalA place to wash clothes: a laundry.
9. formalobsoleteA place where gold is panned.
10. formalobsoleteA paved room in a mortuary where corpses are kept under a shower of disinfecting fluid.

1. datedformalnot comparableWashing, or cleansing by washing.