house of easement en · NOUN
Etymology
From easement in its former euphemistic use to reference the easing of one's bowels.
Meanings
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(euphemistic, obsolete) An outbuilding in which to do one's easement (defecate): an outhouse.
[T]he lowest servants at Hampton Court used the great communal toilet capable of seating fourteen people at once named the ‘Common Jakes’ or the ‘Great House of Easement’. This giant facility discharged into a tank which was washed clean by the waters of the moat. Even so, the tank emitted a dreadful smell and frequently had to be scrubbed clean.
2011, Lucy Worsley, “The Whole World is a Toilet”, in If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 153:Se the hous of esement be swete & clene.
1508, Book of Keruynge:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| houses of easement | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
stool of easement · do one's easement