garderobe

Definition

A storeroom or wardrobe.

Etymology

From Middle English garderobe, from Middle French garderobe (from garder (“to keep safe”) + robe (“dress”)). Doublet of wardrobe.

Example Sentences

• "He splashed some tepid water on his face from the basin beside his bed and took his time squatting in the garderobe, the night air cold on his bare skin."
• "In the early medieval period (1066-1300), the solution in huge stone castles was garderobes: small rooms that jutted out over the walls with a hole covered by a seat. Castle builders tried to site garderobes over a stream or a moat, but this was not always possible."
• "Even with the seat, most garderobes in castles did not encourage long stays.[…]Despite the unappealing and unsanitary nature of garderobe shafts, besieging forces on more than one occasion successfully entered castles by having men climb up the shafts."