The word Safareig means a traditional public washhouse or washing basin used in Catalan-speaking regions of Spain for washing clothes in a communal setting.
The origin of the word, is more interesting than that..
The word comes from Persian; čāhrēg, built from čāh (pit or well) plus rēg (sand).
It was then borrowed into Arabic, ṣihrīj (صِهْرِيج) meaning a water tank, or cistern (different from an aljibe, an underground water tank or cistern).
It was then adopted in Catalán as safareig; the washing basin.
It’s use then took a twist; the verb fer safareig (xafardejar) means to gossip – supposedly due to “women gossiping at the washing”.
“A la feina sempre fan safareig a la màquina de cafè!” – At work, they’re always gossiping at the coffee machine!”
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