house of easement
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From easement in its former euphemistic use to reference the easing of one's bowels.[1]
Noun
house of easement (plural houses of easement)
- (euphemistic, obsolete) An outbuilding in which to do one's easement (defecate): an outhouse.
- 1508, Book of Keruynge:
- Se the hous of esement be swete & clene.
- 2011, Lucy Worsley, “The Whole World is a Toilet”, in If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 153:
- [T]he lowest servants at Hampton Court used the great communal toilet capable of seating fourteen people at once named the ‘Common Jakes’ or the ‘Great House of Easement’. This giant facility discharged into a tank which was washed clean by the waters of the moat. Even so, the tank emitted a dreadful smell and frequently had to be scrubbed clean.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- "easement, n." in the Oxford English Dictionary (1891), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
