necessary house

English

Etymology

Likely formed under influence from necessarium (“monastic latrine, outhouse, or lavatory”) and necessary (“outhouse; lavatory”).

Noun

necessary house (plural necessary houses)

1. (euphemistic, obsolete) An outhouse: an outbuilding used for the "necessary" business of urination and defecation.
   • 1747 15 December, Lord Chesterfield, letter:

     I knew a gentleman who was so good a manager of his time that he would not even lose that small portion of it which the calls of nature obliged him to pass in the necessary-house; but gradually went through all the Latin poets in those moments.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:outhouse

Related terms

• See necessary

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "necessary, adj. and n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2003.