dying room

English

Etymology

Probably introduced or popularized by the 1995 television documentary The Dying Rooms.

Noun

dying room (plural dying rooms)

1. A room in a Chinese orphanage where unwanted children are left to die from neglect.
   • 1996, United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women: Hearings..., page 241:

     The following day questions were raised in the House of Commons about China's one-child policy and its dying rooms.

   • 2005, Andrea Barnes, The Handbook of Women, Psychology, and the Law, page 388:

     There have been studies showing that orphanages in parts of China are nothing more than torture chambers at best. An article by Hansel (2002) describes one orphanage as a “dying room.” It was observed that the children are chained to a chair over a bucket […]

See also

• living room