Where does “restroom” come from?
Restroom comes from English room and English arrest, from Old French arester meaning "to stop," from Proto-Germanic rūmaz, Latin ad-, and Proto-Indo-European steh₂- meaning "to stand."
restroom (English): A room containing a public toilet: a public...
Definitions
- A room containing a public toilet: a public...
Ancestry of “restroom”, step by step
restroom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English REST
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | REST | Acronym of representational state transfer |
| 2 | English | arrest | A check, stop, an act or instance of arresting... |
| 3 | Old French | arester | to stop |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | arresto | I cause to stop |
| 5 | Latin | restō | to stand firm; to stay behind |
| 6 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 7 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 8 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English room
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | room | Opportunity or scope; Space "for" something, or... |
| 2 | Middle English | roum | A space or area; A room |
| 3 | Old English | rūm | room, space; roomy, spacious, ample, extensive,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | rūm | roomy, spacious; room, open space |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rūmaz | roomy, spacious, open |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | rewh₁- | free space |