cuspidor

American  

[kuhs-pi-dawr] / ˈkʌs pɪˌdɔr /

noun

1. a large bowl, often of metal, serving as a receptacle for spit, especially from chewing tobacco: in wide use during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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cuspidor British  

/ ˈkʌspɪˌdɔː /

noun

1. another word (esp US) for spittoon

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Etymology

Origin of cuspidor

1770–80; < Portuguese: literally, spitter, equivalent to cusp ( ir ) to spit (≪ Latin conspuere to cover with spit; con- con- + spuere to spit ¹ ) + -idor < Latin -i-tōrium; see -i-, -tory ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cuspidor

In Paris, 30 smokers, each provided with a spittoon, cuspidor or bowl, met at the annual open-air smokers' tournament, established many records.

From Time Magazine Archive

While the ineffable Judge Brown made good use of "a green cuspidor strategically located by his left foot," he rejected virtually every defense objection, say the authors.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had started life as a waif, he said, who had found shelter in a Philadelphia saloon, where he became cuspidor and errand boy at the age of seven.

From Time Magazine Archive

He keeps a brass cuspidor within reachable trajectory of his desk, shows visitors the bullet hole that some disgruntled subscriber drilled through his office window, and lets his staffers strut their stuff.

From Time Magazine Archive

Or else they'll pour half of it into the cuspidor when you're not looking.

From The Trail of '98 A Northland Romance by Robert W. (Robert William) Service