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latrine

 - 3 dictionary results

la⋅trine

[luh-treen]
–noun
a toilet or something used as a toilet, as a trench in the earth in a camp, or bivouac area.

Origin:
1635–45; < F < L lātrīna, short for lavātrīna place for washing, deriv. of lavāre to wash
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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la·trine   (lə-trēn')   
n.  A communal toilet of a type often used in a camp or barracks.

[From French latrines, privies, from Old French, from Latin lātrīna, privy, from lavātrīna, bath, privy; see leu(ə)- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

latrine 
1297, from L. latrina, contraction of lavatrina "washbasin, washroom," from lavatus, pp. of lavare "to wash" (see lave) + -trina, suffix denoting "workplace." Its reappearance in 1642 is probably a re-borrowing from Fr.; esp. of a privy of a camp, barracks, college, hospital, etc. Latrine rumor "baseless gossip" (of the kind that spreads in conversations in latrines) is military slang, first recorded 1918.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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