What Is the Difference Between a Toilet and a Commode

A toilet is permanently attached to the plumbing. … In the strictest sense, a bedpan or portable toilet seat with an attached dry receptacle would be a commode, while the water-flushed bowl and tank in the bathroom would be a toilet. A bedpan is an example of a commode.

Is commode and toilet the same?

In the United States, a “commode” is now a colloquial synonym for a flush toilet. The word commode comes from the French word for “convenient” or “suitable”, which in turn comes from the Latin adjective commodus, with similar meanings.

Do people still say commode?

Today, commode is still a common term heard in the American South. Elsewhere, the term commode denotes a kind of cabinet, causing confusion when journalists mistook reports of Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham taking a bribe in the form of a pair of antique commodes worth more than $7000.