noun
- Nautical.
- the quarters on a ship that are occupied by the stewards or stokers.
- lazaretto(def 3).
- any locker or enclosed space for loose gear.
- Glassmaking. an auxiliary furnace for reheating glass that has cooled during offhand blowing.
- Mining. drawhole.
noun
- informal a room, cupboard, or other storage space that contains an untidy and miscellaneous collection of objects
- nautical another term for lazaretto (def. 1)
“a drawer or place where things are heaped together in a disorderly manner,” 1825, the first element probably a variant of Scottish glaur “to make muddy” (mid-15c.), perhaps from Old Norse leir “mud.” Sexual (originally homosexual) sense from 1940s.