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Is it obsolete to use the term garburator to refer to a garbage disposal unit in a kitchen? If it is, do we have a better term to replace it with?

Also, what is the etymology of this word?

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I never heard the word, but I love it! – Khaur Jan 16 at 11:12
Yeaaaaaaah , me too , it's lovely – Benjamin Jan 16 at 11:24
There's a brand of garbage disposals named In-sink-erator, which is another terrible pun. – Marcus_33 Jan 16 at 13:32

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

As an American, I've never heard this word before today. I refer to it simply as a garbage disposal, without the word unit.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/garburator claims that this word is specific to Canada, so I assume it might have been a Canadian brand.

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You are correct , but i've heard it lots of times in Tv .but thanks anyway – Benjamin Jan 16 at 7:25
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@BenyaminHamidekhoo, what country have you heard it in? I too have never heard it and this is the first time I've ever seen it. – jwpat7 Jan 16 at 7:32
I heard it on a TV Series called " How i met your mother " , America . There was a gal named Robin . She used this word one or twice i guess. – Benjamin Jan 16 at 7:36
That could make it a "proprietary eponym" where a trademark is used for the general type of product. – Jon Hanna Jan 16 at 9:59
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@BenyaminHamidekhoo the character Robin in that show is Canadian, and some of the humour in it comes from views Americans and Canadians have of each other, so it might well have been used precisely because Americans wouldn't use it. Incidentally, some other humour in that show comes from the group having pet coinages that nobody uses, so there'd be more than a few cases where they'd say something that isn't really found anywhere at all. – Jon Hanna Jan 16 at 10:20
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