Also spitoon. [f. SPIT v.2 + -OON.] A receptacle for spittle, usually a round flat vessel of earthenware or metal, sometimes having a cover in the form of a shallow funnel with an opening in the middle.
1840. in Thornton, Amer. Gloss., s.v., A well-dressed gentleman picked up a China spittoon.
1841. Dickens, Barn. Rudge, x. Not at all particular on the subject of spittoons.
1851. N. Hawthorne, in J. Hawthorne, Hawthorne & his Wife (1885), I. 420. There were spittoons … at equal distances up and down the broad entries.
1888. W. R. Carles, Life in Corea, ii. 21. One or two small brass spittoons were on the floor.
