cloakroom
Meaning
a room in a public building where coats, hats, luggage, etc. can be left temporarily.
(british) a room that contains a toilet or toilets.
Structure
Usage
please leave your wet coat in the cloakroom before entering the gallery.
the theatre's cloakroom service charges a small fee for each item.
excuse me, could you tell me where the cloakroom is?
Etymology
the word 'cloakroom' is a transparent english compound formed in the 19th century. its first element, 'cloak', derives from the medieval latin 'clocca', meaning "bell", due to the bell-like shape of the garment, and entered english via old north french. the second element, 'room', is a native english word of germanic origin, from proto-germanic 'rūmą', meaning "space". the compound literally means "a room for cloaks", originally designating a space for storing outerwear in public venues. over time, particularly in british usage, it developed a euphemistic sense for a lavatory, following the pattern where a room's primary function (storing coats) was humorously or politely extended to a secondary, private function.
Analysis
cloak (from old north french 'cloque', meaning "traveling cloak", of germanic origin; functions as a noun modifier). room (from old english 'rūm', meaning "space"; functions as the head noun).