Urinal

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /jʊəˈraɪnəl/

Definitions

1. A fixture or receptacle designed for the disposal of urine, typically found in bathrooms and public restrooms for male use
2. A bathroom fixture specifically intended for the collection and disposal of urine, primarily utilized in male restrooms within various facilities
3. A plumbing installation created for hygienically receiving and directing urine, often located in men’s lavatories and public toilets

Etymology: The word has been a bottle-shaped vessel long before it was a fixture on a wall. Middle English borrowed "urinal" from Old French, where "orinal" or "urinal" named a flask used to examine urine, the medieval doctor's way of diagnosing illness by looking at a patient's water. The container and the diagnosis were one tool: a physician would hold the glass up to the light and read the colour and cloudiness. Only later did the word attach to the vessel used for relieving oneself rather than inspecting the result. Behind the French is Late Latin "ūrīnālis," meaning "urinary," built from "ūrīna," urine, plus the adjectival suffix "-ālis." The adjective became a noun in Old French, so the original sense was really "the urine thing," a container understood through its contents. The plumbing sense, a wall-mounted fixture for men, is much more recent. Its use is attested from 1851, when the word moved from the physician's flask into the public toilet.

Synonyms: toilet, lavatory