geography
English
Etymology
From Middle French géographie, from Latin geōgraphia, from Ancient Greek γεωγραφία (geōgraphía, “a description of the earth”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”).
Use in reference to lavatories derives from the mid-20th century euphemism "show one the geography of the house" in reference to pointing out the toilets.
Pronunciation
Noun
geography (countable and uncountable, plural geographies)
- A description of the earth: a treatise or textbook on geography; (archaic) an atlas or gazetteer.
- The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them.
- Terrain: the physical properties of a region of the earth.
- 1973, Helen Miller Bailey, Abraham Phineas Nasatir, Latin America: the development of its civilization
- The geography of the Andes approaches never made transportation easy; routes to Bogota, Quito, La Paz, and Cuzco were so precipitous as to slow down the development of those Spanish cities in the interior.
- 1973, Helen Miller Bailey, Abraham Phineas Nasatir, Latin America: the development of its civilization
- Any subject considered in terms of its physical distribution.
- (astronomy) Similar books, studies, or regions concerning other planets.
- The physical arrangement of any place, particularly (Britain, slang) a house.
- (chiefly upper-class Britain, euphemistic) The lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.
- 1967 December 21, The Listener, p. 802:
- The Business Man Jocular: ‘I say, where's the geography, old son?’
- 1967 December 21, The Listener, p. 802:
- (figuratively) The relative arrangement of the parts of anything.
- (chiefly business and marketing) A territory: a geographical area as a field of business or market sector.
Synonyms
- (upper-class British slang for lavatory): loo; see also Thesaurus:bathroom
Derived terms
Translations
study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
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References
- Oxford English Dictionary. "geography, n."
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