public lavatory
- noun
- /ˈpʌblɪk ˈlævəˌtɔri/
:
aseo público
- In a perceptive, pioneering article on late nineteenth-century Tonypandy, David Smith has shown how the lower middle class there attempted to define their sense of community by the appropriation and "improvement" of public space, through such features as street lighting, fountains, and public lavatories.
Examples
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Apparently, in public lavatories (especially those marked "Men"), the first guy in stands right in front of the toilet, does his business just as he should, but then dribbles just a bit.
Blog text (16) -
The city has installed new signs directing people to the nearest public lavatory for convenience.
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Before the concert, I used the public lavatory located near the entrance of the park.
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During our tour around the museum, we found a clean public lavatory available for visitors.
Synonyms
275
1.0
A small room with a bowl and sink where people go to pee or poo
133
1.0
A public room with toilets and sinks for people to use
49
2.8
A public room with a toilet for people to use
29
9.9
A toilet in informal speech
26
5.8
A simple shared toilet used outdoors or in a camp
20
1.0
A room with toilets and sinks, often in a public building
19
2.0
A room with a toilet and a sink for washing hands
9
1.0
A toilet people can use in public places like parks or stations
7
1.0
A room with toilets and sinks that anyone can use in public places
3
8.4
A room with a toilet and sink
2
1.2
A room or building with toilets for public use
1
3.2
A public toilet for people to use
1
1.0
A small room with a toilet for people to use
A toilet in a public place that anyone can use
A public room with toilets and sinks for cleaning hands
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward compositional combination: 'public' (open to everyone) modifies 'lavatory' (a room with toilet facilities), so the meaning 'a toilet facility available to the general public' is directly derivable from the parts. This kind of adjective + noun composition is cross-linguistically common and would be immediately understood by a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Public lavatory comes from the word lavatory, which originally meant a place 'to wash' and named rooms or basins where people cleaned; over time lavatory became a polite word for a toilet. Adding public shows it is open to everyone, so a public lavatory is a toilet anyone can use.