loo
/lu/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.30 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
2
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
A cry to urge on hunting dogs.
verb
To urge on with cries of loo or (figuratively) by other shouting or outcry.
Example Sentences
- "I suppose it is unreal because we have been expecting it [sc. World War II] for so long now, and have known that it must be got over before we can go on with our lives. Like in the night when you want to go to the loo and it is miles away down a freezing cold passage and yet you know you have to go down that passage before you can be happy and sleep again."
- "Ensure that the tents are well-sited and clean, rubbish bins empty, and that the loos have toilet paper."
- "The lack of running water in rural areas often makes Western-style loos hygienic disasters. Suddenly the noncontact squat toilet doesn′t look like such a bad option any more (as long as you roll up your trouser legs)."
- "Waterless urinals are a great way of keeping the guys out of the cubicle toilets, keeping the urine separated from the solid waste (when using composting loos) and reducing water consumption if you have flush loos."
- "Edg. Pilicock sate on pelicocks hill, a lo lo lo."
- "And therefore next uncouple either Hound [sc. George Monck and Prince Rupert], And loo them at two Hares ere one be found."
Etymology
Uncertain, although usually derived in some way from Waterloo, the site of Wellington's 1815 victory over Napoleon, likely via a pun based on water closet. Other suggested derivations include corruptions of French l'eau (“water”), lieu (“place”), lieux d'aisances (“'places of convenience': a lavatory”), lieu à l'anglaise (“'English place': a British-style lavatory”), bordalou (“a diminutive chamber pot”) or gardez l'eau (“'mind the water'”), via Scots gardyloo, formerly used in Edinburgh while emptying chamber pots out of windows; the supposed use of "Room 100" as the lavatory in Continental hotels; a popularisation of lew, a regional corruption of lee (“downwind”), in reference to shepherds' privies or the former use of beakheads on that side of the ship for urination and defecation; or a clipped form of the name of the unpopular 19th-century Countess of Lichfield Lady Harriett Georgiana Louisa Hamilton Anson, who was the subject of an 1867 prank whereby her bedroom's name-card was placed on the door to the lavatory, prompting the other guests to begin speaking of "going to Lady Louisa".
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /lu/
- British English: /luː/
Usage
- British usage
- Uncountable
- Transitive verb
- Obsolete
- Indian usage
- American usage
- Slang