night-soil

A form of night soil — Human faeces; especially, such waste as has recently been added to an outhouse or dry closet and will need removal.

Meanings

nounnight-soil (plural night-soils)

plural night-soils

  1. alternativearchaiceuphemisticAlternative spelling of night soil.
    1 more example

    In the neighborhood of Paris there are places appropriated to the reception of the night-soil: it is thrown into reservoirs of no great depth, in comparison with their superficial extent, and of an aggregate capacity which is such that they will contain the whole of the products collected by the night-man in the course of six months.

    1850, J. B. Boussingault, Rural Economy, in its Relations with Chemistry, Physics, and Meteorology, page 294
Cite this entry
APA

night-soil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night-soil

MLA

“night-soil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night-soil. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “night-soil,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/night-soil.

Source: night-soil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.