Po

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An informal name for a receptacle kept under a bed for use as a toilet, especially by children or invalids
2. A small bowl-shaped container used as a toilet in a bedroom, typically emptied by hand when full
3. Slang for a chamber pot, a portable vessel for urine and feces kept in a bedroom at night

Etymology: Under the bed, the vessel and the word for it are both small, familiar, and a little childish. This "po" is a diminutive of "pot," the same chamber vessel, shortened and made cosy in everyday speech. Its meaning is simply the smaller version of the object it names. Several unrelated words share its spelling. The "po" in "pocock," an old form of peacock, comes from Old English "pāwa" and has nothing to do with bedrooms. The slang "po" for a police officer is a clipping of "police," a much later coinage. Neither is connected to the chamber pot, so the spelling is a coincidence of separate histories.

Synonyms: potty, chamber pot, pot