Closets and Wardrobes

[Carol]

Carol earlier:
>  
> > Since the British put their cups in dressers and their dresses in
cupboards, maybe the expression should be "coming out of the cupboard"?
> 
> Goddlefrood:
> 
> No we don't. Most use a cupboard for cups and a wardrobe for
clothes. Whatever gave you a contrary idea?
>
Carol:
I was joking, based on "the cupboard under the stairs," which I would
call a closet. And Filch uses a "broom cupboard," IIRC, which, again,
we Americans would call a closet. But I did think that "cupboard"
ought to apply to a place to store cups and dishes rather than brooms
or whatever the Dursleys store under the stairs, just as "dresser"
seems an odd term for a place to store dishes (yes, I realize that
most UK houses these days don't use dressers for that purpose because,
like American houses, they have built-in cupboards, but, still,
"dresser" seems like an odd term for a piece of furniture used to
store plates. Again, I was having fun, trying to add a bit of humor to
the list, which has become overly serious lately (partly my own fault).

If I'm not mistaken, a closet in British English means or used to mean
a small private room, whereas for Americans, it means a place to store
clothing or supplies (clothes closet, broom closet, linen closet).

I suspect, without looking it up, that the expression "coming out of
the closet" was originally British, as was "closet drinker." At least,
it makes more sense to me to have a person (figuratively) hiding in a
small private room than, say, secretly drinking in a broom closet.

Carol, who is genuinely interested in etymology but also finds the
differences between British and American English amusing