Garderobe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɑːdɹəʊb/

Definitions

1. A term referring to a chamber historically utilized for waste elimination
2. A small room or closet historically used as a privy for waste disposal
3. An enclosed space in medieval buildings serving as a primitive toilet area

Etymology: The word that now names a medieval toilet once meant nothing of the kind. In Old and Middle French, "garderobe" was a room for storing clothes, a wardrobe in the modern sense, and the English word "wardrobe" still comes from the same source. The two are doublets: they entered English by different routes from one French original, so they split apart in form and meaning. The French word is built from "garder", meaning "to keep safe", and "robe", meaning "dress" or "garment". Over time, the storage room for clothing was also used for other valuables and chests, and in castles and large buildings the term came to refer to a chamber set into the thickness of a wall, often near a bedroom or hall. Such chambers frequently housed a toilet, which is how "garderobe" in English came to mean a privy, a small closet for waste disposal, often discharging through a shaft in the outer wall.