In America, you'll often hear the toilet referred to as the 'restroom'. This alternative word for toilet first gained popular usage in the early twentieth century.
In Canada and the US it is impolite to use the word toilet. You can call the actual physical thing a toilet, but if you want to say that you need to use the toilet, you must say something else. We have all sorts of other polite names for it!
The name “John” was later derived from “Jake” and “Jack.” Secondly but most notable amongst historians, John was the name of the first man credited with inventing the first flushing toilet. John Harington was born during the time in which Queen Elizabeth reigned. His mother was a member of the queen's chamber.
British/American toilet / bathroom. In British English, but not in North American English, the room that has a toilet in it is usually referred to as the toilet. This room in people's houses can also be called the lavatory, or informally, the loo. An extra downstairs toilet in a house can be called the cloakroom.
Why do some folks call the toilet a commode? At one point in history, the commode was a piece of furniture you'd put a chamberpot in. Today, commode is still a common term heard in the American South.
American English uses washroom for public convenience facility in commercial and public places. The term bathroom is used for smaller and residential facility. Washroom continues to be used to denote public convenience in Chicago and Canada. In the US utility rooms are also known as washrooms.
The bog. One of the most commonly known and albeit, cruder terms has to be the “bog”. To simply put it, the term “bog” comes from quite a literal sense back in 1789 from the 'boghouse', which is British slang meaning to defecate.
'Lavatory' is a good option for people looking for a very formal word to use in very formal occasions.
cloakroom - checkroom. A cloakroom is a room where you leave your hat and coat, especially in a place of entertainment. In American English, a room like this is sometimes called a checkroom. In British English, cloakroom is also a polite word for a toilet.
The word comes from nautical terminology, loo being an old-fashioned word for lee. The standard methinks it comes from the nautical pronunciation (in British English) of leeward is looward. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over the side of the vessel.
Le petit coin, le trône – other words for the toilet, common slang.
The use of the term "head" to refer to a ship's toilet dates to at least as early as 1708, when Woodes Rogers (English privateer and Governor of the Bahamas) used the word in his book, A Cruising Voyage Around the World.
If you want to ask for directions to the restroom, you can ask things like “where's the restroom” or “men's room,” or “ladies' room.” Many restrooms (both men and women) have diaper changing stations for infants. The water in the toilet is only available for flushing. You have to use the paper wipes, or toilet paper.
For example, in Canada we often say “washroom”. In England, you might hear “the toilet”. Find out what vocabulary to use in which countries to mean the toilet or the room with the toilet. If you are traveling or living in an English-speaking country, there is a good chance you will need to know some of these words.
Yes, the humble toilet has been deemed too common for posh people. According to Hanson, the word's origins come from the French word 'toilette' which is used to describe someone's appearance. You really wouldn't want to look like a toilet would you? Loo or lavatory are much more acceptable.
WC stands for "Water Closet." It references a toilet. This is not to be mistaken with a bathroom, however. A bathroom indicates a room that includes not only a toilet, but a facility in which to take a bath (or shower), too. Why is a toilet sometimes refered to as a Water Closet in Europe?
The Privy. A privy was basically an unlined cesspool in the ground with a wooden hut built over it. A wooden shelf stretched across, with a nice, bottom sized hole in the middle. You sat here and did your business, with your waste dropping down into the hole.
The Jacks. In Ireland, 'the jacks' means 'toilet', most commonly used to refer to public bathrooms. Every Irish person knowns what this term means, but few know why they use it – indeed it's difficult to find a solid explanation.
Washroom: a polite word for bathroom. The Canadian version of “restroom.”
To builders nowadays, a water closet refers to a room with just a toilet, although some companies, such as Richmond American Homes, will include water closets in the same category as a powder room or a half bath—a room with a toilet plus a sink.
In the 20th century, where the words lavatory or toilet were deemed inappropriate (e.g. in the United States), they were sometimes replaced with bathroom or water closet, which in turn became restroom, W.C., or washroom. Because in most American households, the bathroom does contain a bath.
Though houses in the 1920s had lavatories, chamber pots in the bedrooms were still often preferred as the commode of choice. It was the job of the chambermaid to collect the pots a few times throughout the day and dispose of the contents.
In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below.