Draw the bath

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on May 25, 2010 at 21:42

In Reply to: Draw the bath posted by Pat on May 25, 2010 at 18:28:

: Where did the phrase "draw the bath" come from? How do you "draw" bath water?

"Draw" in this phrase has the sense "pull, drag, lift" rather than "sketch". Before we had running water in our houses and only needed to turn a tap to get some, anyone who needed water always had to "draw" (i.e. lift) what they needed up from a well, a spring, a cistern or whatever. A related usage is "draught beer" - beer that is kept in a cellar under the bar and has to be *drawn* up with a pump. (VSD)