Originally posted by Geoff: I had never thought of the word, "lavatory" as meaning other than "washroom." This guy seems to think otherwise.
In UK use lavatory means the actual ceramic or plastic plumbed-in fitting or the room in which it's contained. I think Americans generally use toilet to refer to the former. Some of us also use toilet to refer to the room. We don't generally use washroom, preferring bathroom when referring to the containing room itself.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
At the school where I went to the 2nd and 3rd grades the toilet, bathroom, whatever you want to call it, was called the lav, short for lavatory, though I thought the teacher said lab, short for laboratory. I never heard it called that before and I haven't heard it since. This was around '53 in a rural area of WA state. It's not rural any more.
It is interesting that there are so many words for bathroom, toilet, lavatory, loo, washroom, ladies' and mens' room, etc. Yes, arnie, Americans tend to think of the toilet as the porcelain bowl. Yet, I know that's not the case in other countries. Interestingly, however, at O'Hare Airport there are some signs for "Toilet" though others for "Women's or Men's Room."
