commode

American  

[kuh-mohd] / kəˈmoʊd /

noun

1. a low cabinet or similar piece of furniture, often highly ornamental, containing drawers or shelves.

2. a stand or cupboard containing a chamber pot or washbasin.

3. toilet.

4. a portable toilet, especially one on a chairlike frame with wheels, as for an invalid.

5. an elaborate headdress consisting chiefly of a high framework decorated with lace, ribbons, etc., worn perched on top of the hair by women in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

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commode British  

/ kəˈməʊd /

noun

1. a piece of furniture, usually highly ornamented, containing drawers or shelves

2. a bedside table with a cabinet below for a chamber pot or washbasin

3. a movable piece of furniture, sometimes in the form of a chair, with a hinged flap concealing a chamber pot

4. a woman's high-tiered headdress of lace, worn in the late 17th century

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Etymology

Origin of commode

First recorded in 1680–90; from French, from Latin commodus “convenient, fitting, suitable”; equivalent to com- + mode ¹

Example Sentences

Douglas is working on a "Zero-G Commode," and G.E. is developing a "Hydrojohn."

From Time Magazine Archive

Some of Chippendale's designs bear such titles as "French chairs" or a "Bombé-fronted Commode."

From Illustrated History of Furniture From the Earliest to the Present Time by Litchfield, Frederick

La statue de Commode est tr�s curieuse par le costume.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.

Ce qui est certain, c'est qu'apr�s la mort de Commode, un aventurier, tent� par la belle villa et par les grandes richesses des Quintilii, se donna pour Sextus et r�clama son h�ritage.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.

Cependant l'empereur Pertinax, successeur de Commode, l'ayant fait venir, eut l'id�e de lui parler grec.

From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.

Related Words

• dresser