Can the word 'loo' mean bathroom (with bath and shower and all) [closed]
English is not my first language, so I may be completely wrong, but I always thought that 'loo' meant 'toilet', the thing itself as well as the small room with just a toilet and maybe a small sink, and not 'bathroom'. And yet I read stories in which people brush their teeth in the loo. So am I right or do people actually take a bath in the loo?
Heh. In British English both 'toilet' and 'loo' are very often used to mean 'bathroom' (or 'lavatory' if you want what many would consider the correct British term), rather than just the item of bathroom furniture. Although extremely widespread, some Britons would still say that the use is 'wrong'.
Most British people find 'bathroom' an odd euphemism for a room where you usually do not take a bath (and 'restroom' still more so). Having moved from Britain to North America, I also know that 'toilet' (which I grew up saying) quickly begins to sound strange and even course to the ear, despite my best attempts to avoid language snobbery and cultural assimilation.
It's an example of 'U and non-U English'. More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_and_non-U_English
Also note, Wikipedia says 'loo' is "U". So, now I'm confused!
EDIT:
I see that you differentiate a small room with a toilet and sink, but no bath or shower, from a bathroom. Toilet and loo could be used to refer to all of the above.
The probably apochryphal story is that early train carriages had two rooms, one marked 'toilet', which contained the toilet, and one marked 'lavatory' which contained the sink, and that explains why the 'wrong' usage arose.
EDIT 2:
Having written all this, I realise I should have just linked to "Toilet", "lavatory" or "loo" for polite society
We don't have a bath[1] in the loo, but we often go to the loo in the bathroom.
Loo is a British word. In Britain it is common to have the toilet, shower, and bath all in the same room. That room is called the bathroom. In this situation, the loo is the thing you sit on in the bathroom. (I know what you're thinking. I think it's disgusting, too, and I was raised in Britain.)
A larger house might have a second toilet in its own room. In this situation, the loo is both the room, and the thing that you sit on. So there's a loo in the bathroom, and a loo in the loo. And there is also a small sink in the loo, so we can brush our teeth there if we want.
Footnote:
- Take a bath is American English. In British English we have a bath / shower.