loo definition | Dictionary.com

loo

1 [loo]

noun, plural loos, verb, looed, loo⋅ing.

–noun

1.	a card game in which forfeits are paid into a pool.

2.	the forfeit or sum paid into the pool.

3.	the fact of being looed.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to subject to a forfeit at loo.

Origin:
1665–75; short for lanterloo < D lanterlu < F lantur(e)lu, special use of meaningless refrain of an old song

loo

2 [loo]

–noun, plural loos. British Informal.

toilet.

Origin:
1935–40; of uncert. orig.

loo

3 [loo]

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object), noun, plural loos. Chiefly Northern U.S.

low ² .

loo

4 [loo]

noun, plural loos, verb (used with object), verb (used without object), looed, loo⋅ing. Scot.

love.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To loo

loo¹ (lōō)

n. pl. loos
A card game in which each player contributes stakes to a pool.

[Short for obsolete lanterloo, from French lanturlu, a meaningless refrain, loo.]

loo² (lōō)

n. pl. loos Chiefly British
A toilet.

[Origin unknown.]

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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Loo

Loo\, n. [For older lanterloo, F. lanturelu, lanturlu, name of the game; orig., the refrain of a vaudeville.] (a) An old game played with five, or three, cards dealt to each player from a full pack. When five cards are used the highest card is the knave of clubs or (if so agreed upon) the knave of trumps; -- formerly called lanterloo. (b) A modification of the game of "all fours" in which the players replenish their hands after each round by drawing each a card from the pack.

Loo table, a round table adapted for a circle of persons playing loo.

Loo

Loo\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Looed; p. pr. & vb. n. Looing.] To beat in the game of loo by winning every trick. [Written also lu.] --Goldsmith.

loo (1)

"lavatory," 1940, but perhaps 1922, probably from Fr. lieux d'aisances, "lavatory," lit. "place of ease," picked up by British servicemen in France during World War I. Or possibly a pun on Waterloo, based on water closet.

loo (2)

"type of card game," 1675, short for lanterloo, from Fr. lanturelau, originally the refrain of a song.

loo

gambling card game often mentioned in English literature. The name derives from the French lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song. Popularity of the game faded in the 20th century.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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