china closet
1
3.7
- noun
- /ˈtʃaɪnə ˈklɒsɪt/
:
vitrina
- After dinner, we returned the used plates to the china closet where they were stored safely.
- room with china closet
- built-in china closet
Examples
-
And your presents are in the cupboard under the china closet.
-
She walks through the dining room, passing a china closet filled with fancy dishes and glasses.
Fiction book (1995) -
There is no need to inventory the whole place as he goes, although we could do it down to the cost of this and that scrap and count the contents of the china closet and kitchen drawers; we stand ready, if challenged, to produce the notarized accountings.
Fiction book (1998) -
The family displayed their finest china in the elegant china closet near the dining table.
-
She carefully opened the glass doors of the china closet to show her collection of antique dishes.
Synonyms
755
1.0
A small space for keeping clothes and other things
168
1.3
A piece of furniture with shelves or drawers for storing things
79
1.0
A cabinet with shelves for storing dishes or food
5
1.6
A cupboard in a kitchen for storing dishes and food
4
2.7
A piece of furniture with shelves or drawers for dishes
3
2.6
A cabinet with glass doors for storing and showing fine dishes like teacups
How Decorative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'cabinet for storing and displaying porcelain' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'china' (porcelain dishware) with 'closet' (a storage piece of furniture). Although 'closet' often evokes clothing storage, the pattern object + storage-furniture is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
China closet comes from an old piece of furniture: a closet with glass where people kept their best china so guests could see it. So today it means 'a cabinet for storing and displaying fine dishes'.