Sanitaries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Relating to or serving the purposes of health and hygiene, especially in public health contexts
2. Connected to facilities or systems designed to ensure cleanliness and the prevention of disease
3. Pertaining to the management and regulation of public health standards and environmental sanitation

Etymology: "Sanitaries" is simply the plural of "sanitary," used as a noun for items such as sanitary towels or fittings, and it takes its meaning from the adjective's sense of cleanliness and health. The adjective entered English in the 19th century, borrowed from French "sanitaire," which was formed from the Latin "sanitas," meaning "health." Latin "sanitas" is itself built from "sanus," "healthy," the same root that gives English "sane" and "sanity." The word therefore carries the older idea of soundness of body and mind, and the modern sense of hygiene grew out of the 19th-century concern with public health and disease prevention.

Synonyms: hygienics, health provisions, sanitary facilities, cleanliness measures, public health measures