British words for bathroom? (2023)

What do British people call a bathroom?

In British English, "bathroom" is a common term but is typically reserved for private rooms primarily used for bathing; a room without a bathtub or shower is more often known as a "WC", an abbreviation for water closet, "lavatory", or "loo". Other terms are also used, some as part of a regional dialect.

As with many English words, some are common in American English and others are common in British English. However, words such as: bathroom, ladies room, men's room and restroom are common to both. On most airlines, the toilet is referred to as “the lavatory”.

Privy is a very old word for what we'd call the bathroom, with it earliest citation in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) from 1225.

cludgie - toilet, or lavatory, originally outdoors.

Familiarize yourself with local lingo when asking for the bathroom. In European countries like France, Germany, and the Netherlands, ask for the “water closet” or the “toilette.” In Australia, it's called a “dunny.” In the U.K., look for the “loo.” And in Japan, find the “ben-jo.”

Originally Answered: How should I say "I want to go to toilet" in polite English conversation? In the UK we would just ask “please could I use your toilet/lavatory/loo?” The first option is most normal, the second more formal and the third the most informal. All options are perfectly polite.

Bog roll. Taken from the 16th-century Scottish/Irish word meaning 'soft and moist,' bog means restroom or lavatory. Bog roll, naturally, is an idiom for toilet paper.

bathroom. nounroom for bathing, toilet use. bath. lavatory. powder room.

'Lavatory' is a good option for people looking for a very formal word to use in very formal occasions​.

What is a fancy way of saying using the bathroom?

RELIEVE MYSELF. This is a polite euphemism for using the toilet, and is general used humorously.

Despite its British popularity for a slightly less crude way to call the toilet, the word “loo” is actually derived from the French phrase 'guardez l'eau', meaning 'watch out for the water”.

They were called bagnios ( from the Italian bagnio for bath) or stewhouses as the bathers 'stewed ' themselves in hot water. Behaviour in the baths would appear to have degenerated as Henry VI (1422-71) closed them down when they became a front for brothels.

dunny – a toilet, the appliance or the room – especially one in a separate outside building.

The Jacks. In Ireland, 'the jacks' means 'toilet', most commonly used to refer to public bathrooms. Every Irish person knowns what this term means, but few know why they use it – indeed it's difficult to find a solid explanation.

Tŷ bach. Tŷ bach (literally “small house”) is the generic term for toilet that appears in dictionaries and Welsh language textbooks for learners. It is used across the country in an official capacity but is also the go-to word in southern regions such as Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

While there is a word for bathroom, ett badrum, that's where the bathing takes place.

The bathroom is the “Badezimmer” in German and the “toilet” is the “Toilette”. Both words work but if you're at someone's home, it's more common to ask for the “Badezimmer” while in public you would directly ask for the “Toiletten”.

A brolly is the same as an umbrella. [British, informal]

What is a sandwich called in England?

In England, a sandwich is called a butty! Add some British food slang to your vocabulary that will impress English folk and confuse your American friends.

Diaper is what they use in North America, and Nappy is the word used in the UK & Ireland, Australia, NZ and many other Commonwealth countries.

pisser (coarse slang) pooper (slang) porcelain god (slang) porcelain goddess (slang) pot.

It's a harsh word that was adapted from the French toilette which means your appearance, hence toiletries bag. Lavatory or loo is much more acceptable.

fag noun (CIGARETTE)

She's gone outside for a quick fag.

Medieval toilets, just as today, were often referred to by a euphemism, the most common being 'privy chamber', just 'privy' or 'garderobe'. Other names included the 'draught', 'gong', 'siege-house', 'neccessarium', and even 'Golden Tower'.

In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below.

The term garderobe is also used to refer to a medieval or Renaissance toilet or a close stool. In a medieval castle, a garderobe was usually a simple hole discharging to the outside into a cesspit (akin to a pit latrine) or the moat (like a fish pond toilet), depending on the structure of the building.

I definitely grew up with Australian English wee, in both noun and verb form instead of pee. Both of these forms have a much more recent history, verb wee is first attested in 1934 and noun wee in 1968, and are considered British forms by the OED.

The shoe known in Australia as a “thong” is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the world. Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool.

What do Australians call Porta potties?

What do Australians call Porta potties? Dunny: If you eat Vegemite with every meal and have seen a few kangaroos in your lifetime, you'll refer to a movable toilet as a dunny. Australians usually call any toilet located outside a “dunny,” and a porta potty is no exception.

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.