toilette

Where does the word "toilette" come from? It comes from Latin tela, passing through French before entering English (1530s-1819).

Toilette’s story begins in Latin: tela meant “web, cloth.” From texere 'to weave' - a word for woven cloth. By medieval, the word had taken hold in French as toile. Kept the sense of cloth or fabric. By 1500s, French speakers had reshaped it into toilette. A diminutive of toile, first for a cloth cover on a dressing table, then for the act of dressing itself. It reached English by 1530s-1819 as toilette. Entered for a cloth wrapper, then widened through 'act of dressing' to a dressing room, and eventually a bathroom. Today, toilette means the process of washing and dressing, or informally, a bathroom.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient tela "web, cloth", from texere 'to weave' - a word for woven cloth.
2. Stage 2 · French · medieval toile "cloth, linen", kept the sense of cloth or fabric.
3. Stage 3 · French · 1500s toilette "a dressing-table cloth; the act of grooming", a diminutive of toile, first for a cloth cover on a dressing table, then for the act of dressing itself.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1530s-1819 toilette "the process of washing and dressing", entered for a cloth wrapper, then widened through 'act of dressing' to a dressing room, and eventually a bathroom.