Word.ws English Dictionary

close-stool

close-stool noun: a chamber pot enclosed in a stool or box; a commode.

close-stool: a chamber pot enclosed in a stool or box; a commode
Image: Lobsterthermidor, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

close-stool (plural close-stools)

  1. (historical) A chamber pot enclosed in a stool or box; a commode.
    • other Princes, […] to dispatch their weightiest affaires make often their close stoole, their regall Throne or Councel-chamber, Folio Society. 2006, p.17
    • […] be careful and diligent to all strangers, and see that they lack nothing in their Chambers, which your Mistress or Lady will allow, and that your close stools and Chamber pots be duely emptied, and kept clean and sweet.1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, page 166

Forms of close-stool

pluralclose-stools
alternative formclose stoole
alternative formclose stool
alternative formclosestool

Origin of close-stool

From Middle English close stol, equivalent to close (“enclosed”, adjective) + stool.

Questions about close-stool

What does close-stool mean?
Close-stool means a chamber pot enclosed in a stool or box; a commode.
What part of speech is close-stool?
Close-stool is a noun.
What is the plural of close-stool?
The plural of close-stool is close-stools.

Words near close-stool in the dictionary

  1. close-reefing
  2. close-reefs
  3. close-run
  4. close-serried
  5. close-set
  6. close-stool
  7. close-stools
  8. close-tiled
  9. close-toed
  10. close-tongued
  11. close-up

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: close-stool (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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