room | Words related to room | Online Etymology Dictionary

Words related to room

early 14c., "den, cave, gollow nook," from Old English cofa "small chamber, cell," from Proto-Germanic *kubon (compare Old High German kubisi "tent, hut," German Koben "pigsty," Old Norse kofi "hut, shed").

Extension of meaning to "small bay, inlet, or creek" is from 1580s, apparently via Scottish dialectal meaning "small hollow place in coastal rocks" (a survival of an Old English secondary sense). Also in early Middle English, "chamber, closet, pantry," hence the legal phrase cove and keie "right of the mistress of a household to control 'pantry and key,'" that is, to manage the household (late 13c.).

-th (2)

suffix forming nouns of action, state, or quality from verbs or adjectives (such as depth, strength, truth), from Old English -ðu, -ð, from Proto-Germanic *-itho (cognates: Old Norse -þ, Old High German -ida, Gothic -iþa), abstract noun suffix, from PIE *-ita (cognates: Sanskrit -tati-; Greek -tet-; Latin -tati-, as in libertatem "liberty" from liber "free"). Sometimes in English reduced to -t, especially after -h- (as in height).

ballroom (n.)

also ball-room, "a room designed or set aside for dancing parties," 1724, from ball (n.2) + room (n.). Ballroom dancing is attested by 1872.

bar-room (n.)

also barroom, "room in a tavern, etc., with a bar or counter where alcoholic drinks are served," 1797, from bar (n.2) + room (n.).

bathroom (n.)

also bath-room, 1780, from bath + room (n.). Originally a room with apparatus for bathing (the only definition in "Century Dictionary," 1902); it came to be used 20c. in U.S. as a euphemism for a lavatory and often is noted as a word that confuses British travelers. To go to the bathroom, euphemism for "relieve oneself; urinate, defecate," is from 1920 (in a book for children), but typically is used without regard for whether an actual bathroom is involved.

bedroom (n.)

also bed-room, "room intended to contain a bed," 1610s, from bed (n.) + room (n.). Used by Shakespeare in a sense "sleeping space, room in a bed" (1580s). Replaced earlier bedchamber (late 14c.). Old English had bedbur, bedcofa. First record of slang bedroom eyes is from 1901.

boardroom (n.)

also board-room, 1731, from board (n.1) in the sense of "table where council is held" + room (n.).

classroom (n.)

also class-room, "room in which school lessons are taught," 1811, from class (n.) + room (n.).

cloak-room (n.)

also cloakroom, 1827, "a room connected with an assembly-hall, opera-house, etc., where cloaks and other articles are temporarily deposited," from cloak (n.) + room (n.). Later extended to railway offices for temporary storage of luggage, and by mid-20c. sometimes a euphemism for "bathroom, lavatory."

courtroom (n.)

"chamber in which a court of law is held," 1670s, from court (n.) + room (n.).

Words related to room

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