• Original language: French
  • Original form and meaning: toilette 'lavatory, bathroom, to dress up'


(Note: If the status is not specifically indicated then the word is stylistically neutral and generally used; if earlier meaning and status equals current use the former may be expressed by writing "dito". Cf. also the project guidelines.)


Language Form Date of Borrowing (and Obsolescence) Current Meaning and Status Earlier Meanings and Statusses Source
Catalan ... ... '...' '...' ...
Croatian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Czech toaleta; toaletní ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Danish toilette; toilet ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Dutch ... ... '...' '...' ...
English toilet 16th c. 1. 'a cloth cover for a dressing table (now usually calles a 'toilet-cover'), 2. 'the articles required or used in dressing, the furniture of the toilet-table' (collective), 3. 'the table on which these articles are placed', 4. 'the action or process of dressing, or, more recently, of washing and grooming', 5. 'manner or style of dressing, dress, cosume,'get-up', gown', 6. 'a dressing-room, in U.S. esp. a dressing-room furnished with bathing facilities, hence a bath-room, a lavatory, (contextually), a lavatory bowl or pedestral, a room or cubicle containing a lavatory' 'cover or bag for clothes' OED, http://www.etymonline.com
Estonian tualett(ruum) ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Finnish ... ... '...' '...' ...
French ... ... '...' '...' ...
Frisian ... ... '...' '...' ...
German Toilette 18th c. 1. 'fine women's clothing' (dial.), 2. 'lavatory' (dial.), 3. 'to dress oneself' (dial.), 4. 'clothes' (dial.), 5.'water closet' (dial.) '...' Birken-Silvermann 2003: 139
Hungarian toalett ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Irish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Italian toilette, toaletta 1805, 1825 1. 'dressing table, to dress oneself' (dial.), 2. 'new clothes, lavatory' (dial.), 3. 'mirror' (dial.) '...' Birken-Silvermann 2003: 139
Latvian tualete ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Lithuanian tualetas ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Maltese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Norwegian toalett ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Polish toaleta ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Portuguese Brazil: toalete ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Rumantsch ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovak toaleta; toaletný ... 'lavatory' '...' ...
Slovenian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Spanish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Swedish toalett ... 'lavatory' '...' ...

Annotations edit

Etymology: original English meaning: "cover or bag for clothes", from MF toilette "a cloth, bag for clothes" diminutive of toile "cloth, net". Sense evolution is to "act or process of dressing" (1681); then "a dressing room" (1819), especially one with a lavatory attached; then "lavatory or porcelain plumbing fixture" (1895), an AmE euphemistic use. Toilet paper is attested from 1884. Toilet training is recorded from 1940.

Source: http://www.etymonline.com

Information on Other Languages edit

Estonian: WC

Finnish: WC

Portuguese: privada, banheiro

Slovenian: stranišče

Spanish: lavabo