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what is a commode in furniture

by Salvador Flatley Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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commode in American English
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.

Full Answer

What is a commode made of?

commode, type of furniture resembling the English chest of drawers, in use in France in the late 17th century. Most commodes had marble tops, and some were fitted with pairs of doors. André-Charles Boulle was among the first to make commodes.

What is the history of the commode?

The Commode Cabinet. Commodes were introduced in the 18th century in France and were both decorative and useful. A piece of antique furniture from this period is still called a commode. A French commode is a low cabinet or chest of drawers, often with elaborate decoration and usually standing on cabriole legs or short feet.

Is a commode a chest of drawers?

Some people use commode as a euphemism for a toilet. But the word can also be used to describe a chest of drawers—a usage that is perhaps more common among antique furniture enthusiasts. Here is a bit of history on how this single word came to have two such different meanings.

What does a commode cabinet look like?

The Commode Cabinet. A French commode is a low cabinet or chest of drawers, often with elaborate decoration and usually standing on cabriole legs or short feet. Earlier commodes had a bombe or convex shape with a flat back that went against the wall. Later, the shape became more rectilinear with straighter legs.

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Why is a dresser called a commode?

In early 18th-century France, the word commode meant a chest of drawers or a cabinet for storing personal items. The word derives from the French word for "convenient" or "suitable." Later on, "commode" was used to mean a particular type of cabinet that held chamber pots.

What is a commode used for?

A commode chair, known in British English simply as a commode is a type of chair used by someone who needs help going to the toilet due to illness, injury or disability. A commode chair sometimes has wheels to allow easy transport to the bathroom or shower.

What is the difference between a commode and a chest of drawers?

In fact, the commode originates from a French furniture form developed in the late 17th Century. Getting to the bottom: "Commode" refers to any heavy, ornate chest of drawers, the more elaborately decorated the better. By the 18th Century, the commode had become a prominent piece of Rococo furniture.

What is the full meaning of commode?

Definition of commode 1a : a low chest of drawers. b : a boxlike structure holding a chamber pot under an open seat also : chamber pot. c : toilet sense 1a. d : a movable washstand with a cupboard underneath.

What are the types of commodes?

European or Western Waters closet, also known as WC/EWC (Toilet designed to sit). Squatting pan (Toilet is designed to squat)....According to the bowl design toilets can be classified around four types:Round bowl toilet.Square bowl toilet.Elongated Bowl toilet.Rectangular bowl toilet.

What are the different types of commode?

Many countries have adopted this type of toilet to deal with water shortages.Double Cyclone Flush. Double cyclone flush toilets are the latest option on the market. ... Pressure Assisted Toilets. ... Gravity-Flush Toilet. ... Composting Toilets. ... Waterless “Dry Sanitation” Toilet. ... Upflush Toilet. ... Portable Toilets. ... Two-Piece Toilets.More items...

What does a commode look like?

It looks like a chair with a toilet seat and has a bucket or container underneath. The container can be removed for cleaning after the commode is used. A commode can be placed beside the bed if a person cannot get to the bathroom. The commode may have wheels so that it can be rolled away when it is not needed.

What is commode called in USA?

In the United States, a "commode" is now a colloquial synonym for a flush toilet. The word commode comes from the French word for "convenient" or "suitable", which in turn comes from the Latin adjective commodus, with similar meanings.

What is another word for commode?

In this page you can discover 24 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for commode, like: chamber-pot, potty chair, day-bed, toilet, can, crapper, potty, stool, bedpan, water-closet and washstand.

What is the difference between a toilet and a commode?

A toilet is a permanent fixture in the bathroom that is hooked up to the building's plumbing. Toilets are filled with water and can be flushed after use. On the other hand, a commode chair is not hooked up to plumbing to be used anywhere. Rather than being flushed, commodes must be cleaned after use.

What do you call a toilet in a chair?

A commode chair is a portable toilet that can be placed at the bedside of a patient whose activity is limited. Commode chairs are often used in the home when the patient is too debilitated to reach the bathroom.

What is the bedside commode?

A bedside commode is a portable toilet.

What is the difference between a toilet and a commode?

A toilet is a permanent fixture in the bathroom that is hooked up to the building's plumbing. Toilets are filled with water and can be flushed after use. On the other hand, a commode chair is not hooked up to plumbing to be used anywhere. Rather than being flushed, commodes must be cleaned after use.

Is a commode and toilet the same thing?

In the United States, a "commode" is now a colloquial synonym for a flush toilet. The word commode comes from the French word for "convenient" or "suitable", which in turn comes from the Latin adjective commodus, with similar meanings.

Do you put water in a commode?

Make sure the container is under the seat. Put a small amount of water in the container before it is used. This makes it easier to clean the container later.

Is a commode a toilet?

The commode, or as we more commonly refer to it, the toilet, is something everyone uses on a daily basis. It is the centerpiece of most modern bathrooms and iterations of the modern toilet date back over 5000 years.

What does "commode" mean in furniture?

The word " commode" causes some confusion. Some people use commode as a euphemism for a toilet. But the word can also be used to describe a chest of drawers —a usage that is perhaps more common among antique furniture enthusiasts. Here is a bit of history on how this single word came to have two such different meanings.

Why is a commode considered a piece of furniture?

Because of its usefulness, the commode became an indispensable piece of furniture and before the mid-18th century , it made its way from royal and aristocratic houses to more humble ones. It was well on its way to becoming a humble yet useful piece of furniture that it is today. Gradually by the late 19th century, the commode became even more subdued in form and ultimately, it became a purely functional piece of furniture, now referred to as a chest of drawers.

Why are commodes used in a room?

Because of its usefulness, the commode became an indispensable piece of furniture and before the mid-18th century, it made its way from royal and aristocratic houses to more humble ones.

When were commodes invented?

Commodes were introduced in the 18th century in France and were both decorative and useful. A piece of antique furniture from this period is still called a commode. A French commode is a low cabinet or chest of drawers, often with elaborate decoration and usually standing on cabriole legs or short feet. Earlier commodes had a bombe ...

What shape was a commode?

Earlier commodes had a bombe or convex shape with a flat back that went against the wall. Later, the shape became more rectilinear with straighter legs. Commodes were meant to stand against the wall and were wider than they were tall.

Where did the word "commode" come from?

The word derives from the French word for "convenient" or "suitable.". Later on, "commode" was used to mean a particular type of cabinet that held chamber pots. And gradually it evolved to refer to a piece of wooden chair-like furniture that held the chamber pot. In the final stage of the word's semantic drift, ...

What is a chamber pot commode?

At this time, a chamber pot commode was no doubt the height of convenience in the middle of the night. By the early 20th century, the word commode became associated with the porcelain toilet. It remains the more common usage of the term. Only antique furniture enthusiasts are likely to own a "commode" that is not a fixture in the bathroom.

What is a commode?

A commode is any of many pieces of furniture. The Oxford English Dictionary has multiple meanings of "commode". The first relevant definition reads: "A piece of furniture with drawers and shelves; in the bedroom, a sort of elaborate chest of drawers (so in French); in the drawing room, a large (and generally old-fashioned) kind of chiffonier.".

What is a commode in the museum?

The modern toilet commode is on the right. In British English, "commode" is the standard term for a commode chair, often on wheels, enclosing a chamber pot —as used in hospitals and the homes of invalids.

What is a bombe commode?

Bombé commodes, with surfaces shaped in three dimensions, were a feature of the rococo style called Louis Quinze. Rectilinear neoclassical, or Louis Seize, commodes might have such deep drawers or doors that the feet were en toupie —in the tapering turned shape of a child's spinning top. Both rococo and neoclassical commodes might have cabinets flanking the main section, in which case such a piece was a commode à encoignures; pairs of encoignures or corner-cabinets might also be designed to complement a commode and stand in the flanking corners of a room. If a commode had open shelves flanking the main section it was a commode à l'anglaise; if it did not have enclosing drawers it was a commode à vantaux .

Where is a commode located?

A commode occupied a prominent position in the room for which it was intended: it stood against the pier between the windows, in which case it would often be surmounted by a mirror glass, or a pair of identical commodes would flank the chimneypiece or occupy the center of each end wall.

When did commodes come into use?

In the English-speaking world, commode passed into cabinet-makers' parlance in London by the mid-eighteenth century to describe chests of drawers with gracefully curved fronts, and sometimes with shaped sides as well, perceived as being in the "French" taste.

Where did the term "commode" come from?

The term originates in the vocabulary of French furniture from about 1700. At that time, a commode meant a cabinet or chest of drawers, low enough so that it sat at the height of the dado rail ( à hauteur d'appui ). It was a piece of veneered case furniture much wider than it was high, raised on high or low legs.

What is a washstand in a bedroom?

A washstand in the bedroom pre-dates indoor bathrooms and running water. In British English, "commode" is the standard term for a commode chair, often on wheels, enclosing a chamber pot —as used in hospitals and the homes of invalids. In the United States, a "commode" is now a colloquial synonym for a flush toilet.

What is a commode?

English Language Learners Definition of commode. : a low piece of furniture with drawers or sometimes a door and shelves. : a chair with a hole in the seat and a pot underneath that is used as a toilet. See the full definition for commode in the English Language Learners Dictionary.

What are some examples of commodes?

Examples of commode in a Sentence. There are towels in the cabinet above the commode. Recent Examples on the Web Gizelle is wearing a memorable outfit, pregnant Ashley can't fit into her shoes, and Candiace doesn't even show up, citing frequent visits to the commode.

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1.The History of the Term "Commode" - The Spruce

Url:https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-a-commode-1391681

15 hours ago  · A commode is a dresser or chest of drawers that is generally antique and French in appearance, having originated around the 18th century in France. Bombe commodes (or …

2.What is a Commode? - Chairish Blog

Url:https://www.chairish.com/blog/what-is-a-commode/

14 hours ago  · It's the French name for a chest with drawers or doors that's a convenient storage piece used in a bedroom. Many have small feet and carved decorations. The same word with …

3.Commode - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commode

8 hours ago Definition of commode. 1 a : a low chest of drawers. b : a boxlike structure holding a chamber pot under an open seat also : chamber pot. c : toilet sense 1a. d : a movable washstand with a …

4.Commode Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Url:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commode

11 hours ago  · Commode, according to John Gloag, has come to mean any piece of furniture having a serpentine front, such as a dressing table or even a chair seat. Gloag points out that …

5.Commode Furniture - Etsy

Url:https://www.etsy.com/market/commode_furniture

8 hours ago  · commode, type of furniture resembling the English chest of drawers, in use in France in the late 17th century. Most commodes had marble tops, and some were fitted with …

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