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Glite Dictionary
spittoon

spittoon

4 9.8
A container for spitting into often found in old bars and waiting rooms
  • noun
  • /spɪˈtuːn/
  • Archaic
: cuspidor
  • Behind a bar of scratched black wood in the corner—a bar with a brass rail and a spittoon at each end in sawdust—the bartender smoked a corncob pipe.
  • a brass spittoon
  • spittoon in a saloon
  • spit into a spittoon

And then just I want to see a spittoon.

Examples

  • After the meeting, several attendees noticed the spittoon was overflowing and needed to be emptied.

  • I been working since I was ten years old, cleaning spittoons at a dime a day.

    Hombre (1967)

  • Spittoons were purchased to help keep the sanctuary clean in response to that most unsightly of habits.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The hotels, brass spittoons in the lobbies, brass beds in the rooms.

    Field of Dreams (1989)

  • Her eyes adjusted rapidly, and Scarlett saw the reason for the benches and spittoons in the main room downstairs.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It featured papered walls, comfortable furniture, polished spittoons, and a piano that was actually in tune.

    Wild Bill (1995)

  • Cleaning toilets and emptying spittoons in a noisy restaurant on Van Buren, the Brass Bull.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • In the saloon, patrons would often use the old spittoon beside the bar to dispose of their chewing tobacco.

  • The historical exhibit featured a dusty spittoon that represented a time when such containers were common in public places.

Synonyms

cuspidor
vsspittoon
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A bowl for spitting into often found in public places

is mainly used in the past rather than in modern times

Surface Forms

spittoon singular
spittoons plural

Morphology

spittoon = spit (semi-transparent) = spit + oon

The component 'spit' makes the referent (something for spitting into) clear, but the suffix '-oon' is non-productive in modern English so the exact formation is not fully transparent.

Etymology

The word spittoon comes from the simple verb spit ('to force saliva out of the mouth') plus a noun ending -oon, so it literally names a container for spit. That's why a spittoon is the public bowl or jar people used to spit into.