Hi, All!

An interesting verb is "to draw"! My dictionary says about 86 meanings of it. It is interesting for me which meaning the Englishmen imply when they say "drawing-room"? ;-)

Bye, All!
Alexander Koryagin

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Re: to draw
By: Alexander Koryagin to All on Fri Nov 21 2025 08:50:32

An interesting verb is "to draw"! My dictionary says about 86 meanings of it It is interesting for me which meaning the Englishmen imply when they say "drawing-room"? ;-)

I had to look that one up to remember what it meant. I thought it was like an office but, no, it is a room for entertaining. :O ;)

Mike
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Hi, Mike -- on Nov 21 2025 at 08:47, you wrote:

An interesting verb is "to draw"! My dictionary says about 86 meanings of it It is interesting for me which meaning the Englishmen imply when they say "drawing-room"? ;-)

I had to look that one up to remember what it meant. I thought it
was like an office but, no, it is a room for entertaining. :O ;)

The term most likely comes from the idea that people could "withdraw" from one area to another, hence "withdrawing room" which migrated to "drawing room". It's from a much more formal time than today!


Cheers... Dallas

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Re: to draw
By: Dallas Hinton to Mike Powell on Fri Nov 21 2025 07:02:39

The term most likely comes from the idea that people could "withdraw" from o area to another, hence "withdrawing room" which migrated to "drawing room". It's from a much more formal time than today!

RE: Drawing Room

After reading the definition, I wondered if it wasn't named as such as it was meant to "draw" people into it to gather. ;) Your idea also makes sense.

Mike
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Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to All:

An interesting verb is "to draw"! My dictionary says about
86 meanings of it.

I understand the problem. I also note with interest that you've read stories about Amelia Bedelia, who got confused when told to "draw a bath".

It is interesting for me which meaning the Englishmen imply
when they say "drawing-room"? ;-)

If you include the hyphen, as 2/3 of my favourite sources do, you may find it listed in a separate entry a bit further down the page.

While I'm told there are "drawing-rooms" in Buckingham Palace I guess the audience here is of more modest means. You may see such a room referred to as a "parlour" in writings from +/- a century ago where it was a formal room in which people entertained the rector of the local parish when he paid his annual visit. For most of us it's simply a room where people relax & entertain guests
... as Mike says. Close friends & family might gather around the kitchen table or in another less formal area when the residents can provide the space needed. When they can't, I think most Canadians would probably say "living room".

IIRC some older ex-Brit friends of ours often referred to such a room as a "sitting room"... but this usage appears to be fairly rare Over Here. :-)




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