spittoon

Definition

A receptacle for spit (saliva); especially, one used by people using chewing tobacco or snuff.

Etymology

From spit + -oon.

Example Sentences

• "In the only arm-chair which the apartment boasted—one of the legs of which was shorter than the other three, and to remedy that defect was ingeniously stuck into an iron spittoon—sat the young man Mr. Pascoe had come to visit, very unlike, it must be confessed, any "portraits of a gentleman" one ever saw in the exhibition of the Royal Academy."
• "For use in public institutions, in corridors and grounds, I would recommend an elevated spittoon, which has numerous advantages over the ordinary spittoon placed on the floor."
• "These had once been divided meticulously between the three classes and were still embellished by lengthy extracts from the Decrée of 1902 ("passengers must not spit except into the spittoons provided on pain of..."—but, alas, the spittoons are no more)."