ladies' room

Etymology
Originally in reference to any chamber or suite reserved for the use of women, whether public or private. Popularized by its use as a clipped form of  in reference to gender-separated facilities at train stations, etc. Its use in reference to lavatories replaced other euphemisms including, , ,  , etc.

Noun

 * 1) A room belonging to or intended for some or all women, particularly:
 * 2)  A waiting room in a railway station or other public building intended exclusively for women and usually including a separate women's lavatory.
 * 3) * 1864 January 26, J.G. Lindsay, letter to P.P.L. O'Connel, §8:
 * Arconum—I found two chairs wanting in the gentlemen's room, and the bath room attached applied to other purposes; the ladies' room was clean, and properly furnished, with the exception of two basins which were removed; the privies and urinaries clean...
 * 1) * 1875 January, John Scholfield, opinion of the Illinois Supreme Court in TW&W Ry Co v Williams:
 * He had no lady with him, and his excuse for being in the ladies' room was, the gentlemen's room was too filthy. The little room into which he had gone was the ladies' water-closet... There were signs plainly printed on the doors, showing which rooms were for gentlemen and which for ladies and over the entrance to the little room, from which appellee was ejected, is printed the words: "Ladies' Private Room."
 * 1)  A public lavatory intended for use by women.
 * 2) * 1935, John O'Hara, BUtterfield 8, Ch. ix, p. 279:
 * The women's toilet (as distinguished from the ladies' room in a speakeasy, the johnny at school, the little girls' room at a party in an apartment, and the wash-my-hands on a train) was clean enough.
 * 1)  A public lavatory intended for use by women.
 * 2) * 1935, John O'Hara, BUtterfield 8, Ch. ix, p. 279:
 * The women's toilet (as distinguished from the ladies' room in a speakeasy, the johnny at school, the little girls' room at a party in an apartment, and the wash-my-hands on a train) was clean enough.

Synonyms

 * See Thesaurus:bathroom

Translations

 * Bulgarian: дамска тоалетна
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese: 女廁, 女界
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Finnish:
 * French: toilettes femmes
 * German:, Damenumkleideraum
 * Hungarian: női vécé
 * Romanian: toaletă feminină
 * Russian: же́нская убо́рная, же́нский туале́т
 * Swedish: ,
 * Turkish: kadınlar tuvaleti