What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Portaloo vs Loo - What's the difference?

portaloo | loo |

As a noun portaloo

is a portable toilet.

As a verb loo is

.

portaloo

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A portable toilet.
  • * 2009 , James Der Derian, Virtuous war: mapping the military-industrial-media-entertainment network
    • The valleys and hillsides looked pretty chewed up by all the maneuvers, portaloos dotted the landscape, but the fauna seemed to appreciate the fact that the U.S. Army—unlike the Bavarian hunters outside the box—were shooting blanks.
  • * 2011 , Elly Griffiths, The Janus Stone
    • On what would once have been the front lawn there is now a prefabricated hut and a portaloo .

    loo

    English

    Etymology 1

    Uncertain; possible origins include: * French lieux'', short for ''lieux d'aisances ‘toilets’, literally ‘places of convenience’. * A particular brand of early toilet cisterns, trademarked 'Waterloo'. A common folk etymology is that the word comes from the exclamation gardyloo'', from French ''garde à l'eau ‘mind the water!’, used when emptying dirty water or slops out of a window onto the public sidewalk or street.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (colloquial, Australia, NZ, UK) A toilet.
  • * 2006 , Garth Thompson, Dov Fedler, The Guide?s Guide to Guiding , 3rd Edition, Jacana Media, South Africa, page 160,
    • Ensure that the tents are well-sited and clean, rubbish bins empty and that the loos have toilet paper.
  • * 2009 , Katharina Kane, The Gambia and Senegal , Lonely Planet, page 275,
    • The lack of running water in rural areas often makes Western-style loos hygienic disasters. Suddenly the noncontact squat toilet doesn?t look like such a bad option any more (as long as you roll up your trouser legs).
  • * 2010 , Meegan Jones, Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide , Earthscan, page 206,
    • Waterless urinals are a great way of keeping the guys out of the cubicle toilets, keeping the urine separated from the solid waste (when using composting loos') and reducing water consumption if you have flush ' loos .
    References

    Etymology 2

    Shortened form of lanterloo.

    Noun

    (-)
  • The card game lanterloo.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To beat in the game of loo by winning every trick.
    • (Goldsmith)

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (-)
  • A hot, dusty wind in Bihar and the Punjab.
  • * 1888 , Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Man Who Would be King’, The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales , Folio Society 2005, p. 135:
    • It was a pitchy black night, as stifling as a June night can be, and the loo , the red-hot wind from the westward, was booming among the tinder-dry trees and pretending that the rain was on its heels.
    English terms with unknown etymologies ----