lavatorial, a.
(lævəˈtɔərɪəl, -ˈtɔː-)
[f. L. *lavātōri-us, f. lavāre to wash + -al1.]
1. Of or pertaining to washing.
| 1839 Lady Lytton Cheveley (ed. 2) II. iv. 117 Three pair of cotton stockings..bearing very bilious symptoms of the lavatorial skill of Sally. 1898 Daily News 3 Sept. 3/1 The simplicity of the lavatorial arrangement could hardly be improved upon. |
2. Of or pertaining to a style of architecture or decoration alleged to resemble that used for public lavatories.
| 1936 E. Eaton Summer Dust i. vii. 42 The newer movement, which demands that every rising young lawyer should furnish an appartement in the neo-lavatorial style. 1957 Sunday Times 17 Nov. 3/3 The Examination Schools, that lavatorial building of awful omen. 1958 B. Hamilton Too Much of Water ii. 42, I had to pull down an absolutely shattering piece of Victorian lavatorial Gothic. 1969 Observer 12 Jan. 25/3 A barber's, a lavatorial café, and nothing much else but grime and desolation. 1974 A. Ross Bradford Business 63 Endless lavatorial town hall corridors. |
3. Of or pertaining to lavatories; spec. of conversation, humour, etc.: making undue reference to lavatories and their use.
| 1967 Daily Tel. 15 Apr. 9/3 The average gent is of an aggressive disposition and a lavatorial sense of humour. 1969 Daily Tel. 17 Nov. 9/1 The words..are perfectly familiar, partly lavatorial, partly sexy, ranging in length from four to seven letters. 1969 C. Derrick Reader's Report vii. 120 A great many poets, when talking about their art, drop instinctively and sub-consciously into the use of obstetrical and even lavatorial imagery. 1974 Times 9 Nov. 10/4 The awful lavatorial embarrassment. |