I have been reading the play “The Physicists” by Friedrich Durrenmatt for my University english class. As you may or may not know, the entire play takes place in the drawing room. Of course, I am familiar with the definition of such, but my professor has assigned us to find out the origin of the term. I have been unsuccessful in attaining this information. I have looked in encyclopedias and dictionaries, but to no avail. Thus, I turn to you guys. Any help at all would be appreciated. (Google was also of no help by the way, however my search skills are not tremendous). My guess is England, but I have no real idea.
It was originally the “withdrawing” room. You withdrew from the formal setting of the dining room to a room in which you could entertain visitors. It was applied to various rooms in various settings - sometimes for men and sometimes for women and sometimes for both.
I would rather “bear” with you than “bare” with you, however.
Thank you all for the help so far. I have stumbled across the etymology where “drawing room” was formerly referred to as “withdrawing room”, but I wasn’t sure if that was really what the “origin” was or what. Thanks again, I am noting everyone’s advice!
If you’re looking for a detailed etymology, I highly recommend locating a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, which will have quotations of early usages and the like. A good library should have a copy.
