[go: up one dir, main page]
Advertisement

Origin and history of bathtub

bathtub(n.)

also bath-tub, "a tub to bathe in," especially as a permanent fixture of a bathroom, 1837, from bath + tub. Prohibition-era bathtub gin is recorded by 1928.

also from 1837

Entries linking to bathtub

bath(n.)

Old English bæð "an immersing of the body in water, mud, etc.," also "a quantity of water, etc., for bathing," from Proto-Germanic *badan (source also of Old Frisian beth, Old Saxon bath, Old Norse bað, Middle Dutch bat, German Bad), from PIE root *bhē- "to warm" + *-thuz, Germanic suffix indicating "act, process, condition" (as in birth, death). The etymological sense is of heating, not immersing.

The city in Somerset, England (Old English Baðun) was so called from its hot springs. Bath salts is attested from 1875 (Dr. Julius Braun, "On the Curative Effects of Baths and Waters"). Bath-house is from 1705; bath-towel is from 1958.

tub(n.)

"open wooden vessel, wider than tall, made of staves held together by hoops," late 14c., tubbe, probably from a continental Germanic source such as Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, or Middle Flemish tubbe, words of uncertain origin. Considered to be unrelated to Latin tubus, source of tube (n.).

By 1776 especially as "receptacle for bathing, bath-tub." Jocularly, "a bath, the process of bathing in a tub," by 1849; the verb in the sense of "bathe or wash in a tub" is from c. 1600. Tale of a tub "cock-and-bull story, idle or silly fiction" is from 1530s.

Also 17c. jocular or contemptuous slang for "pulpit;" hence tub-preacher (1640s), tub-thumper (1660s), tub-drubber, "speaker or preacher who thumps the pulpit for emphasis."

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    master
    Here the closet was made just a bit larger so as to allow for a bathtub, thus pushing the partition forward, making the front...
    vessel
    c. 1300, "container," from Old French vessel "container, receptacle, barrel; ship" (12c., Modern French vaisseau) from Late Latin vascellum "small vase or urn," also "a ship," alteration of Latin vasculum, diminutive of vas "vessel." Sense of "ship, boat" is found in English from
    bathroom
    also bath-room, 1780, from bath + room (n.). Originally a room with apparatus for bathing (the only definition in "Century Dictionary," 1902); it came to be used 20c. in U.S. as a euphemism for a lavatory and often is noted as a word that confuses British travelers. To go to the
    but
    Old English butan, buton "unless; with the exception of; without, outside," from West Germanic *be-utan, a compound of *be- "by" (see by) + *utana "out, outside; from without," from ut "out" (see out (adv.)). Not used as a conjunction until late Old English, "on the contrary." Se
    B.T.U.
    1889 as an abbreviation of British Thermal Unit (1862), a commercial unit of electrical energy (the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit); the French Thermal Unit is the amount of heat required to raise 1 kilogram of wate
    gin
    type of distilled drinking alcohol, 1714, shortening of geneva, altered (by influence of the name of the Swiss city, with which it has no connection) from Dutch genever "gin," literally "juniper" (because the alcohol was flavored with its berries), from Old French genevre "the pl
    hormone
    "organic compound produced in animal bodies to regulate activity and behavior," 1905, from Greek hormon "that which sets in motion," present participle of horman "impel, urge on," from horme "onset, impulse," from PIE *or-sma-, from root *er- (1) "to move, set in motion." Used by
    poindexter
    "nerdy intellectual," by 1986, U.S. teenager slang, from the character Poindexter, introduced 1959 in the made-for-TV cartoon version of "Felix the Cat." The name originally was a surname, said to be Norman. There is a rare name Poindexter, appearing in French as Poingdestre, "r
    bless
    Middle English blessen, from Old English bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian "to consecrate by a religious rite, make holy, give thanks," from Proto-Germanic *blodison "hallow with blood, mark with blood," from *blotham "blood" (see blood (n.)). Originally a blood sprinkli
    suffrage
    late 14c., "prayer," especially "intercessory prayers or pleas on behalf of another," from Old French sofrage "plea, intercession" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin suffragium "support, ballot, vote cast in an assembly; right of voting; a voting table

    Share bathtub

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near bathtub
    Advertisement