From LateMiddle Englishcubicle, fromLatincubiculum(“bedroom”).Doublet ofcubiculum.
cubicle (pluralcubicles)
- A smallseparatepart or one of thecompartments of aroom,especially in a work environment.
- Near-synonyms:carrel(sometimes synonymous),carol
Most libraries providecubicles for quiet study.
1983 December 17, Christine Guilfoy, “Women's Bar, Mens Baths Destroyed By Fire”, inGay Community News, volume11, number22, page 1:Two men who were in the baths at the time of the fire, who preferred to remain anonymous, toldGCN that they were asleep in acubicle on the fourth floor when they awoke to the smell of smoke.
1999,Mike Judge,Office Space (motion picture), spoken by Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston):I sit in acubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.
- A smallenclosure at a swimming pool etc. used to providepersonalprivacy when changing.
- (UK, Australia) A small enclosure in a publictoilet for individual use.
- Synonym:stall(chiefly US)
2019 May 23, “Two female loos for every male one, experts recommend”, inBBC News[1], retrieved14 August 2019:With moreurinals thancubicles, men - unlike women - rarely queue, a Royal Society for Public Health report says.
2019 August 16, “Anti-sex toilets will soak users with water jets and sound alarm”, inPlanet Rock[2], retrieved17 August 2019:The toilets will have weight-sensitive floors to make sure only one person is using eachcubicle at a time.
a small separate part or one of the compartments of a room
a small enclosure at a swimming pool etc. used to provide personal privacy when changing
a small enclosure in a public toilet for individual use
Learned borrowing fromLatincubiculum(“bedroom”).
cubicle(Late Middle English)
- abedchamber[15th c.]
- (by extension) any smallroom
