Why Small Bathrooms Are Known As Powder Rooms

Linguist Patrick Foote of Name Explain recounted the origins of the term “powder room” and how it came to be particularly analogous with small bathrooms that are usually out of the way. It turns out that in the 18th century, both men and women wore powdered wigs, and these rooms were used to freshen them up in private. When indoor plumbing became a thing, these rooms were turned into bathrooms, however the name stuck.

It’s often stereotypically linked with well-to-do women who use it as an euphemism along with the idea of powdering your nose. …These rooms originally served the sole purpose of being somewhere to re-powder a wig. They were small box rooms out the way where people could go to sort themselves and their wigs out in private. This is why they were dubbed powder rooms because they are rooms dedicated to powdering wigs.