"Washroom", "restroom", "bathroom", "lavatory", "toilet" or "toilet room"

word-choice

I've always been confused by the terms washroom, restroom, bathroom, lavatory, toilet and toilet room. My impression is that Canadians would rather say washroom while Americans would probably say bathroom or Saint John's in the same situation.

I guess the difference here is not only in different kinds of English, but also in whether one is referring to a room in their house or in some public place.

Which do you usually use? Please specify the difference if you use more than two from those six with different meanings, and also where you are from (i.e. what type of English you speak).

Solution 1:

I'm American, and I've never heard the bathroom referred to as St. John's. It's colloquially referred to as the john, but not politely. Usually this room is referred to euphemistically, and there are degrees of social class associated with the terms. Here are a few, in order of most to least polite or high-class.

The gentlemen's (or ladies') room
The men's (or women's) room
The restroom
The washroom
The bathroom
The facility
The toilet
The john
The jakes
The crapper
The shitter

Solution 2:

In the US we typically say "bathroom" for the room in our home that contains the toilet.

When in public and trying to be polite we ask directions to the "restroom". Indeed, most signs in restaurants, bars and airports will use the word "Restrooms" to direct people to the toilet.

My limited experience in the UK is that everyone is more literal and uses the word "Toilet". Many years ago in a museum in the UK I asked a guard for directions to the "restroom". He said "There's no place here for you to lay down, sir." I expect he was "taking the piss" which is an entirely different thing.

Solution 3:

The room used for defecation is almost always referred to by euphemism.

Bathroom

In Britain this still means a room containing a bath.

Lavatory

This used to mean no more than a room used for washing. It was identical to washroom. "From Late Latin lavātōrium, from Latin lavāre to wash."

Toilet

The word toilet is a euphemism. It previously was used to refer to the early morning routine of preparing for the day by washing, combing hair and applying various potions. So far as I know it did not include defecation and was therefore a perfectly innocuous and polite subject for general conversation. It can be startling to read the word when used in that sense in older books or artworks.

Titian - A woman at her toilet A woman at her toilet - Titian.

W.C.

A euphemism in Britain (and some European countries) was water closet, nowadays abbreviated to W.C. Taken literally it implies no more than a small room provided with a supply of water - nothing offensive there.

WC sign from UK signmaker

Popularity

The British National Corpus provides these counts

toilet      1540
lavatory     546
WC           227
W.C.          13

Progression

It seems that euphemisms must be constantly renewed by replacement as they become tainted by association with the taboo subject. This replacement proceeds at different rates in different countries, cultures or social groups. This means that, in time, new words must also be found for the existing meanings of words like convenience.

Solution 4:

I'm English, and would probably use 'toilet' most of the time, and always in the context of a private home. Or I might use 'loo' which is more informal, but maybe outdated/whimsical. Actually, on reflection, I think there's a subtle and complex social class issue around these two. Not sure myself exactly how it works, but anyone using 'lavatory' is probably related to the royal family, or wishes they were. But then 'lav'is somehow at the other end of the scale.

'Bathroom' is never used and is often found funny when used by Americans. So is their discomfort when you use 'toilet' in the US.

I might use Ladies and Gents in the context of a public facility/bar/restaurant - signage will often use these terms, although perhaps more often written Gentlemen. Actually, thinking about it, I'd always use Gents in a pub, possibly there's a need to reinforce one's own gender identity!

I can't think I've ever heard WC, but I've seen it used on architects' drawings, probably for reasons of space.

Solution 5:

I'd just like to agree with 2revs. For my sins, I went to quite a posh private school, and saying toilet was a definite no-no. Lavatory was the standard word, but at school most people said bog. So I was happy when loo left its original 'U' niche, and became fairly classless. I've lived outside the UK for ten years, but I wasn't aware loo had become dated.