Lavatory

  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Lavatory

Definitions: Lavatory

Lavatory

Noun

1. A room equipped with toilet facilities.

2. A bathroom or lavatory sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you wash your hands and face.

3. A toilet that is cleaned of waste by the flow of water through it.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "lavatory" was first used: sometime in the late 14th century. (references)



Specialty Definitions: Lavatory

DomainDefinitions

Mining

A place where gold is obtained by washing. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Synonyms: Lavatory

Synonyms: basin (n), bathroom (n), can (n), flush toilet (n), john (n), lav (n), privy (n), toilet (n), washbasin (n), washbowl (n), washstand (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Lavatory

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Cleanness

Lavatory, laundry, washhouse; washerwoman, laundress, dhobi, laundryman, washerman; scavenger, dustman, sweep; white wings

Receptacle

Bath room, bathroom, toilet, lavatory, powder room; john, jakes, necessary, loo; men's room, ladies' room, rest room.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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.

Crosswords: Lavatory

English words defined with "lavatory": basin, busyengagedin useLavatoriespublic lavatorywashbasin, washbowl, washroom, washstand. (references)
Specialty definitions using "lavatory": HOME ATTENDANT, home health aidelavatory attendantPIPE-FITTER SUPERVISORREST ROOM ATTENDANTSTEWARD/STEWARDESS, BATHtoilet attendantwashroom attendant. (references)

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Modern Usage: Lavatory

DomainUsage

Screenplays

If I want to send an agent to the lavatory, I need the Foreign Secretary's permission. (The Sandbaggers; writing credit: Claude Lelouch)

He's only planted it in the pan! Yes, actually in the lavatory pan, with compost and everything! (One Foot in the Grave; writing credit: David Renwick)

I just want to thank the student who drew the crude caricature of me in the boys' lavatory, Although you were kind in your portrayal, I would like it if you kept your talents to the art class. (Cutting Class; writing credit: Steve Slavkin)

Movie/TV Titles

Lavatory moderne (1901)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Lavatory

DomainTitle

References

  • The 2000-2005 Outlook for Household Lavatory Blocks Cleaners in Asia (reference)

  • The 2003-2008 World Outlook for Houshold Lavatory Blocks (reference)

  • The World Market for Plastic Baths, Shower Baths, Washbasins, Bidets, Flushing Cisterns, and Lavatory Pans, Seats, and Covers: A 2004 Global Trade Perspective (reference)

    (more reference examples)

  

Books

  • No Talking in the Lavatory (reference)

  • The 2000-2005 Outlook for Household Lavatory Blocks Cleaners in Africa (reference)

  • The Magic Lavatory (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Consumer Goods

  • Delta Faucet N2522MPU Chrome 2-Handle Lavatory Faucet (reference)

  • Moen L84521 Lever Lavatory Faucet with Pop-Up (reference)

  • Delta Faucet 522MPU Chrome 1-Handle Lavatory Faucet with Pop-up (reference)

    (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Photo Album: Lavatory

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

[Barrack & lavatory, mess & kitchen].Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Mens' lavatory. Visalia migratory labor camp, California.Credit: Library of Congress.

Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lavatory facilities.Credit: Library of Congress.

Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lavatory facilities.Credit: Library of Congress.

Jericho Grade School, Jericho, Long Island. Lavatory.Credit: Library of Congress.

Dayton Manufacturing Co., 342 Madison Ave., New York City. Sample lavatory and toilet I.Credit: Library of Congress.

Dayton Manufacturing Co., 342 Madison Ave., New York City. Sample lavatory and toilet II.Credit: Library of Congress.

Dayton Manufacturing Co., 342 Madison Ave., New York City. Sample lavatory and toilet III.Credit: Library of Congress.

Schrafft's, Esso Building, Radio City, New York City. Women's lavatory.Credit: Library of Congress.

  

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Lavatory

AuthorQuotation

John Mortimer

When you get to my age life seems little more than one long march to and from the lavatory.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Lavatory

TitleAuthorQuote

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

To remember that and the white look of the lavatory made him feel cold and then hot.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Lavatory

"Lavatory" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Lavatory" is used about 561 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%56111,166

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Lavatory

Expressions using "lavatory": lavatory bowl lavatory pan lavatory paper lavatory seat lavatory water service public lavatory. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "lavatory": lavatory-gothic, lavatory-legs, lavatory-pan.

Ending with "lavatory": euro-lavatory.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Lavatory

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

lavatory

140

lavatory sink

79

lavatory faucet

60

bathroom lavatory

26

pedestal lavatory

18

crafted hand lavatory

9

kohler lavatory

9

commercial fabricator lavatory

8

lavatory paper

7

vessel lavatory

7

console lavatory

5

design lavatory

4

airplane lavatory

4

above counter lavatory

4

lavatory recessed semi

4

lavatory toto

3

corner lavatory

3

lavatory stainless vessel

3

undermount lavatory

3

aircraft lavatory

3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Lavatory

Language Translations for "lavatory"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaan

  

waskamer (washing-accomodation, wash-place, washroom, wash-room). (various references)

   

Albanian

  

lavaman (basin, sink, washbasin, wash-hand, washing-stand, washstand), lajtore (sink), nevojtore (bathroom, bog, can, John, latrine, loo, rear, toilet, water closet). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏منافع مراحيض (restroom, toilet, toilets), ‏مرحاض (bathroom, cabinet, cloakroom, closet, latrine, loo, necessary, privy, restroom, toilet, washroom, water closet), ‏حوض (basin, cistern, dock, pan, pelvis, receptacle, tank, trough, tub). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

умивалня (ablutions, wash-room), тоалетна (ablutions, bathroom, can, cloakroom, loo, retiring room, toilet), отходно място (convenience, toilet). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

洗手间 (lav, Lavatories, toilet, washroom), 廁所 (toilet), (rest-room, toilet). (various references)

   

Czech

  

záchod (bog, cloakroom, long-drawn, rest room, toilet, washroom, water closet), umývárna (rest room, washroom, wash-room), toaleta (bathroom, cloakroom, dress, evening dress, loo, rest room, toilet). (various references)

   

Danish

  

WC (head, privy, toilet, water closet), w.c. (blue room, toilets), toiletter (toilets), toilet (blue room, privy, toilet). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

WC (head, toilet, toilets, water closet, water-closet), wasinrichting (washing-accomodation, wash-place, washroom, wash-room), washok (laundry-room, washing-accomodation, wash-place, washroom, wash-room), wasgelegenheid (washing-accomodation, wash-place, washroom, wash-room), toilet (blue room, privy, restroom, toilet, toilets). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

مستراح (John, Latrine, Privy, Restroom, Toilet), دستشوءی (Basin, Washstand). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

klosetti (loo, toilet, W.C), käymälä (blue room, loo, toilet). (various references)

   

French

  

toilettes. (various references)

   

German

  

toilette (bathroom, cloakroom, comfort station, outfit, rest room, restroom, restroomUS, toilet), Waschraum (washing room, washroom, wash-room), abort (abort, abortion, convenience, miscarriage, privy, spontaneous abortion, toilet, untimely delivery). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

αποχωρητήριο (cesspool, cloaca, head, latrine, outhouse, privy, restroom, toilet, toilette, washroom, water closet). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

בית שמוש (privy, toilet, water closet), בית כסא (latrine, privy, toilet, w.c.). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

mosdó (toilet, washroom). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

kamar mandi (bathroom), kakus (w.c.), jamban (cesspool, closet, latrine, toilet, w.c.). (various references)

   

Italian

  

latrina (cesspool, latrine, privy). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

お手洗い (bathroom, restroom, toilet), 化粧部屋 (dressing room), 化粧室 (powder room, toilet), デ杯 (bathroom, Davis Cup, prerecorded announcement, restroom, talk, talk show, talkie, Taurus, tautology, toad, toast, toaster, tochka, toe, toe dance, toe kick, toeshows, together, Togo, toilet, toilet case, toilet paper, toilet powder, toilet soap, toiletry, Tokaji, Tokamak, Tokay, token, tokenism, toll, tollgate, tonal, tonality, tone, tone down, tooth, torch, torch lamp, torch relay, tornado, torus, total, Total Energy System, total fashion, total look, total product, totalizator system, tote bag, totem, totem pole, totemism, tournament, tournament pro, toxoplasma, true, try for point, tutti), ラテン語 (labyrinth, Latin, Latvia, lover, radical, radical realism, radish, radon, rapid fire, ravioli, rough, rubber, rubber cement, rubber racket, rubber silk, rubber sole, rubber tile), 手洗い (hand-washing, restroom), 便所 (comfort station, latrine, rest room, toilet), 御手洗い (bathroom, restroom, toilet). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

おてあらい (bathroom, restroom, toilet), ラバトリー , トイレ (bathroom, restroom, toilet), べ"じょ (comfort station, latrine, rest room, toilet), けしょうしつ (powder room, toilet), けしょうべや (dressing room), てあらい (hand-washing, restroom). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

세면장 (lav, Lavatories). (various references)

   

Manx

  

thie-veg (earth closet, loo, toilet), thie premmee, thie beg (loo), premmee (earth closet, loo, privy, public convenience, toilet, WC). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

toalett (loo, toilet). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

avatorylay

   

Portuguese

  

lavabo (bathroom, privy, rest room, restroom, retiring room, toilet), instalação sanitária (privy, rest room, retiring room). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

lavabou (washstand, wash-stand), toaletã (can, closet, dress, dressing, John, outhouse, plumbing, powder room, privy, rest room, retiring room, toilet, w.c., washing, washstand), spãlãtor (mop, washerman, washstand), piscinã (piscine), closet (closet, privy, toilet, w.c.). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

уборная (chic sale, closet, convenience, dressing room, make-up room, necessary, privy, retiring room, retiring-room, washroom, water closet, water-closet, WC =water-closet). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

umivaonik (piscina, wash-basin, washing-stand, washstand, wash-stand), kupatilo (bath, bathroom, lounge), klozet (bathroom, comfort station, john, latrine, loo, lounge, toilet). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

servicios (amenities, blue room, cloakroom, facilities, medical services, public services, service, services, toilet, toilets, toilette, utilities), lavabo (a washbasin, basin, bathroom, cloakroom, closet, loo, sink, toilet, toilette, washbasin, washbowl, washroom), aseos (bathrooms, cloakroom, restroom, toilets, washroom). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

tvättrum (washing-accomodation, wash-place, washroom, wash-room), toalett (can, cloakroom, closet, facilities, restroom, toilet, toilette, w.c.), klosett (closet, toilet). (various references)

   

Thai

  

อ่างน้ำ, ห้องน้ำ (bathroom, cludgie, karzy). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

tuvalet (bathroom, cloakroom, closet, convenience, dress clothes, formal, John, latrine, lav, loo, privy, rear, rest room, restroom, retiring room, toilet, washroom, wash-room, water closet). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

убиральня (bog-house, cloaca, cloak-room, closet, privy, rest room, retiring room, toilet, washroom), туалет (cloak-room, loo, toilet, toilette, water closet, wc). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

phòng rửa mặt nh xí máy, nh tiêu máy (lavabo). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

ymolchfa (bath, wash). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Lavatory

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

lavatorium. (various references)

French1500-Modern

lieux d'aisances,. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Misspellings: Lavatory

Misspellings

"Lavatory" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aleatoric, Cavator, lavastre, Levitor. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Lavatory"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "lavatory" (pronounced la"vutô'rē)
6-v u t ô' r ēobservatory.
5-u t ô' r ēaccusatory, aleatory, ambulatory, anticipatory, articulatory, auditory, celebratory, circulatory, compensatory, conciliatory, confirmatory, confiscatory, congratulatory, contributory, declaratory, defamatory, depilatory, depository, derogatory, dilatory, discriminatory, dormitory, excretory, exculpatory, expiratory, explanatory, exploratory, hallucinatory, incantatory, inflammatory, inhibitory, interrogatory, investigatory, laboratory, laudatory, mandatory, migratory, nondiscriminatory, obligatory, oratory, oscillatory, participatory, predatory, preparatory, prohibitory, purgatory, reformatory, regulatory, repository, respiratory, retaliatory, revelatory, signatory, statutory, territory, transitory.
4-t ô' r ēdesultory, multistory, repertory, understory.
3-ô' r ēallegory, category, outlawry, promissory.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Lavatory

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-a-l-o-r-t-v-y"

-2 letters: aortal, votary.

-3 letters: alary, altar, aorta, artal, arval, larva, lovat, lyart, ovary, ratal, royal, talar, tolar, valor, volar, volta.

-4 letters: alar, alto, arty, arvo, aryl, lava, lory, lota, oral, oval, rato, raya, rota, rotl, ryot, tala, taro, tola, tora, tory, tray, troy, tyro, vara, vary, volt.

-5 letters: aal, ala, alt, art, ava, avo, lar, lat, lav, lay, lot, oar, oat, ora, ort, ova, rat, ray, rot, rya, tao, tar, tav, tor, toy, try, var, vat, yar.

 Words containing the letters "a-a-l-o-r-t-v-y"
 

+3 letters: anovulatory, clairvoyant.

 

+4 letters: clairvoyants.

 

+5 letters: assortatively, clairvoyantly, comparatively, radioactively, variationally.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Lavatory


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

4C 61 76 61 74 6F 72 79

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.-..    .-    ...-    .-    -    ---    .-.    -.--.

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01001100 01100001 01110110 01100001 01110100 01101111 01110010 01111001

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#76 &#97 &#118 &#97 &#116 &#111 &#114 &#121

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

004C 0061 0076 0061 0074 006F 0072 0079

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

4667886786818491

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Photo Album
7. Quotations: Familiar
8. Quotations: Fiction
9. Usage Frequency
10. Expressions
11. Expressions: Internet
12. Translations: Modern
13. Translations: Ancient
14. Derivations
15. Rhymes
16. Anagrams
17. Orthography
18. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.