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Comment by yurishimo | Hacker News Reader

English as a first vs second language in action! Also, much of the European world refers to a "powder room" as a toilet, which generally might only include the toilet bowl as well as a small sink for handwashing.

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Toilet like many words has several definitions. 2. A room or booth containing such an apparatus. 3. The act or process of dressing or grooming oneself.

Key hint to definition was: 'toilet sink' See also: Eau de toilette

"Powder room" doesn't always need a toilet, but they usually do. The essential hardware of a "powder room" is some kind of mirror and a sink. They were the spaces for guests to get cleaned up and get their makeup and wigs right. These days its pretty much a synonym for a half-bath, but a half-bath always has a toilet.

Guily as charged - I should have payed more attention to my wording.

Which European language has this expression?

British English.

The comment mentioned "much of the European world" :)

Danish, Dutch: toilet, Estonian: tualett, Finnish: toiletti, French: toilette, German: Toilette, Greek: τουαλέτα, Hungarian: toalett, Italian: toilette, Latvian: tualete, Lithuanian: tualetas, Maltese: toilet, Norwegian: toalett, Polish: toaleta, Portuguese: tolaete, Romanian: toaletă, Russian and basically every other Slavic language: туалет, Swedish: toalett, Turkish: tuvalet, Welsh: toiled

assuming Wiktionary can be trusted on all of these

Honourable mention to the incomparable Scots language for "cludgie"!

> Also, much of the European world refers to a "powder room" as a toilet

OK, now I get it that I misunderstood the comment! I thought that "powder room" was supposed to be a word in Europe.

Toilet and its variants - of course.

Thanks!

BTW for French it will be the plural "toilettes", the singular form means "the action of washing yourself"

Or water closet (WC)

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