I for one would not like to take rest or a nap in a toilet for God sake. Maybe it has got to do with feeling of embarrassment that America came up with euphemisms for toilet such as bathroom and restroom and Americans found the word toilet to be impolite, even vulgar. There are scores of people who use the words restroom and bathroom interchangeably to refer to a place or room made for sanitation and bathing purpose.
However, if one takes a closer look, there are glaring differences between the two words. A bathroom means a place which has bathing facility that could be a bathtub, a shower or an enclosure meant for bathing. It also has a sink used as a hand basin or wash basin. On the other hand, a rest room usually connotes a public facility having a toilet.
The rest room can be a unit all by itself or it can be a part of a bathroom. Then, in some instances, the washroom and restroom can adjoin each other. In some countries, a toilet refers to the room which contains the toilet or toilets, as in the case of a public toilet facility. In other countries, a toilet refers to the actual fixture or receptacle for relieving oneself. It normally consists of a bowl and an attached water tank.
However, for some inexplicable reason, it is regarded as extremely rude to use the word toilet in American and Canadian culture. In the early history of toilets, chamber pots were used for people to relieve themselves at night. British soldiers experienced this phenomenon during World War I. It is now considered a polite and acceptable way to refer to the toilet or bathroom in Britain and most countries where the word toilet is acceptable. Initially, these words indicated washing or cleaning oneself.
Later these two terms began to mean the place where you could relieve yourself. The term lavatory is going out of fashion and is generally only used by older British people currently.
The latrine is not used commonly any longer, except in the military in Britain and South Africa. But even in the military, the word is beginning to be replaced by other words to indicate a toilet. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a water closet as a small room or compartment that contains a flushing toilet.
Public toilets may be indicated by signs that simply say WC. So, if you are in one of these countries and need the bathroom urgently, look for these signs. Originally toilets were situated outside houses and were classified as outhouses. These were usually pit toilets that were ultimately replaced by flushing toilets.
Eventually, people grew tired of braving the cold and inconvenience of going outside to the toilet. They converted indoor closets into rooms that accommodated toilets that flushed using water. This term was first used in print Women were not allowed in bars, and toilets adjoined the bars. As many hotels housed bars, they needed to make a room available for women to use the toilet and wash their hands.
Women that wore cosmetics often refreshed their make-up when they went to the bathroom. In some areas in America, the powder room was used to refer to the guest bathroom in a house. It housed a toilet and basin but no shower or bath. Refined people and especially ladies of the upper class, preferred not to refer to bodily functions.
For a more in-depth history and definition, read What Is a Powder Room Definition, history, and place in modern society. Although I'm not sure if a lot of people use WC. You might also hear wash room which is just a room with washing and toilet facilities.
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