▪ I. dormitory, n.
(ˈdɔːmɪtərɪ)
[ad. L. dormītōri-um sleeping-place, subst. use of neuter of dormītōrius (see next). Cf. obs. F. dormitoire.]
1. a. A sleeping-chamber; spec. a room containing a number of beds, or a gallery or building divided into cells or chambers each having a bed or beds in it, for the inmates of a monastery, school, or other institution.
| 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 33 The kyng charles beyng in his dormytorye..began to say the psaulter. 1578 T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 397 And lay altogither in one dormitorye as a flocke of sheepe. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. vi. 167 Thorow-lights are best for rooms of entertainment, and windows on one side for dormitories. a 1782 Cowper Jackdaw, A great frequenter of the church, Where bishop-like he finds a perch, And dormitory too. 1860–1 F. Nightingale Nursing ii. 11 Public or private schools, where a number of children or young persons sleep in the same dormitory. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. vii. 86 The canons..were made..to sleep in a common dormitory. |
b. In universities and colleges: a building in which students reside; a hall of residence; a hostel. U.S.
| 1865 Atlantic Monthly XV. 551 He worked with them, studied with them,..slept in the same dormitory. 1892 Univ. of Chicago Quart. Cal. 9 Students are advised to make their residence in the dormitories. 1903 N.Y. Even. Post 7 Oct. 7 There are four regular dormitories or halls for women at Oxford. 1913 J. K. Lord Hist. Dartmouth Coll. 487 In 1899 the old home..was converted into a small dormitory for twenty men. 1964 G. B. Schaller Year of Gorilla (1965) x. 258 Through the generosity of Makerere College she was permitted to live in the girls' dormitory on the campus while I finished my work. |
c. A small town, or a suburb of a large town, containing residences of those who work in the metropolitan area. Esp. attrib.
| 1923 Westm. Gaz. 6 Feb., The steady expansion of London's working centres and the ever-increasing sprawl of its surrounding dormitories. 1930 Times 12 May 9/5 Moreover, it is said, West Fulham is but a London dormitory—a place where voters sleep, and have their interests elsewhere. 1930 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 Sept. 736/1 Self-contained residential or ‘dormitory’ towns. 1949 Here & Now (N.Z.) Nov. 25/1 Otaki has a number of Dunlop-Rubber and Rimutaka-tunnel workers, but otherwise is a dormitory suburb. 1955 Times 30 June 5/1 The choice before the nation was either dormitory development, cutting into the green belts, or country town development well outside the large towns. 1961 L. Mumford City in History xvii. 549 This daily shuttling between dormitory and work-place. 1962 Punch 30 May 812/3 Orpington is a dormitory suburb. 1971 Daily Tel. 3 July 9/2 Wilmslow's commuter dormitories. |
2. fig. A resting-place.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 108 His gray haires might goe in peace to an eternall Dormitory. 1645 Milton Colast. Wks. (1851) 350 Hee presumes also to cite the Civil Law, which, I perceav by his citing, never came within his dormitory. 1825 Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 1 Truths..lie bed-ridden in the dormitory of the soul. |
† 3. A resting-place for the dead; a cemetery, vault, grave. Obs.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 126 Our Ambassadour..died..We obtained a Dormitory for his Body among the Armenian Christians. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 172. 1775 Adair Amer. Ind. 79 The Choktah use the like in the dormitories of their dead. 1891 St. John Tyrwhitt in Colleges Oxf. 305 This is called ‘the dormitory’, being the burial-place of several deans and canons. |
† 4. A song sung to lull to sleep; a lullaby. Obs. rare.
| 1656 S. Holland Zara (1719) 26 Soto sang this Dormitory. |
5. attrib. (see also sense 1 c above), as dormitory-door, dormitory-maid; dormitory-car (U.S.), a sleeping-carriage on a railway.
| 1577–87 Holinshed Descr. Irel. iii. (R.), Vnder sparring the gates, and bearing vp the dormitorie doore. 1892 Ch. Times 1 Apr. Advt. 332 Wanted..two Dormitory Maids. |
▪ II. † ˈdormitory, a. Obs.
[ad. L. dormītōrius, f. ppl. stem of dormīre to sleep: see -ory.]
Tending to or causing sleep; sleepy, drowsy.
| 1631 R. H. Arraignm. Whole Creature xii. §2. 118 Of Poppy, or Opium, or such dormitory potions. 1797 Gentl. Mag. I. 467 The dormitory proceedings of the American General. |