Meanings
plural necessary houses
- euphemisticobsoleteAn outhouse: an outbuilding used for the "necessary" business of urination and defecation.
I knew a gentleman who was so good a manager of his time that he would not even lose that small portion of it which the calls of nature obliged him to pass in the necessary-house; but gradually went through all the Latin poets in those moments.
1747 15 December, Lord Chesterfield, letterSynonyms: outhouse
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn outhouse: an outbuilding used for the "necessary" business of urination and defecation.
Origin
Likely formed under influence from necessarium (“monastic latrine, outhouse, or lavatory”) and necessary (“outhouse; lavatory”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
necessary house. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20house
“necessary house.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20house. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “necessary house,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessary%20house.
Source: necessary house on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.