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For more information on Thomas Crapper, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crapper
Fascinating!
Apparently "Crapper" the name has nothing to do with "crap" the word. Crapper was a brand name in Victorian England (and Navyone was right to capitalise it) but both "crap" and "crapper" are American words that would apparently have been unknown to Victorians. Certainly the word "crap" was known long before Thomas Crapper started his business. It is just possible that "crapper" was coined by Americans when they came across British Crapper-branded loos, but most likely because they were amused by the coincidence that already existed.
Thomas Crapper didn't invent the flushing lavatory, either. The main reason he is famous is because of his unfortunate name, not his achievements. But it's a popular misconception, presumably because it makes the coincidence funnier.
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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The words "crap" and "crapper"
Main article: Crap
The word "crap" is old in the English language, one of a group of nouns applied to discarded cast offs, like "residue from renderings" (1490s) or in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale", meanings probably extended from Middle English crappe "chaff, or grain that has been trodden underfoot in a barn" (c. 1440), deriving ultimately from Late Latin crappa, "chaff."
The word fell out of use in Britain by the 1600s, but remained prevalent in the North American colonies which would eventually become the United States. The meaning "to defecate" was recorded in the US since 1846 (according to Oxford and Merriam-Webster), but the word did not hold this meaning at all in Victorian England. The connection to Thomas Crapper is conjectured by Hart-Davis to be an unfortunate coincidence of his surname.
:-/
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