privy
12
9.9
- noun
- /ˈprɪvi/
- Archaic
:
letrina
- The old farmhouse had a small privy in the backyard for guests to use.
- backyard privy
- pit privies
- vault privies
Examples
-
There was a privy behind the church, and he went to it.
Fiction book (1992) -
"There is a privy down this hallway to the left, and a guest bath to the right.
Fiction book (1990) -
I gotta go visit the privy something terrible.
-
There was a pallet bed on one side and a makeshift privy on the other.
Fiction book (1993) -
Dinner was served and beverages imbibed, time passed, as happens, and Mr. Allen found he needed the privy.
-
He'd have them dig a new hole for the privy first, then shovel lime into the old one.
Fiction book (2002) -
I squatted in the tarpapered privy behind the cottage, pages of The American Sportsman again fulfilling a need.
Fiction book (1999) -
In Atlanta, backyard privies and outhouses were the norm, and scavengers and night-soil men remained popular.
Academic text (2010) -
After hiking all day, I was relieved to find a privy at the campsite.
-
The children ran outside to play, but first, they needed to use the privy behind the house.
Synonyms
275
1.0
A small room with a bowl and sink where people go to pee or poo
182
9.6
A casual word for a toilet
36
8.4
A room with a toilet that people use to go to the bathroom
33
5.8
A small building near a house that has a simple outdoor toilet
30
8.0
A small room with a toilet in older British houses
29
9.9
A toilet in informal speech
26
5.8
A simple shared toilet used outdoors or in a camp
19
2.0
A room with a toilet and a sink for washing hands
7
5.5
A portable toilet used at a bedside for people who cannot reach a bathroom
7
6.8
A bathroom seat people use to pass waste from their body
3
6.1
A small room with a toilet for people to use
3
8.4
A room with a toilet and sink
2
1.2
A room or building with toilets for public use
2
9.9
An outdoor building with a bench and holes that people used to go to the toilet
1
1.0
A small room with a toilet for people to use
An old outdoor toilet outside a house
A small building behind a house used as a toilet or for storing tools
A small outdoor toilet that uses earth to cover waste instead of flushing it
A portable toilet with a removable waste container
A small room with a toilet in public places
Compounds
1
9.9
A senior UK government official who has an old title, no set duties, and sometimes has extra responsibilities
- UK
1
9.9
A money allowance for a king or queen to pay personal expenses separate from government money
How Private
- UK
- Australian
180
3.7
- Archaic
12
9.9
33
5.8
26
5.8
- UK
7
1.0
Surface Forms
Etymology
Privy as a noun comes from the old phrase 'privy house', meaning a 'private' building, based on the root priv- meaning 'private' or 'set apart' and like private. A helpful way to remember it is that the old outdoor toilet was a 'private' place for private business, which is why privy now means an outside toilet.