house of ease

English

Etymology

From the former euphemism do one's ease (“ease one's bowels: defecate”).

Noun

house of ease (plural houses of ease)

(euphemistic, obsolete) An outbuilding used to ease one's bowels: an outhouse.
- 1734, “Strephon & Cloe”, in Beautiful Young Nymph, Jonathan Swift, page 20:
  Had you but through a Cranny spy'd
  On House of Ease your future Bride.

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:bathroom

Related terms

References

Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "ease, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1891.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.