wash
Meanings
- To clean with water.
- To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion.
- To be eroded or carried away by the action of water.
- To clean oneself with water.
- To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten.
- To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash.
- To be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique.
- To bear without damage the operation of being washed; to be suitable for washing.
- To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly.
- To overlay with a thin coat of metal.
- To pass or extract (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents.
- To separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.
- The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
- A liquid used for washing.
- A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties.
- The quantity of clothes washed at a time.
- A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint.
- The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach.
- The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:
- The bow wave or wake of a moving ship, or the vortex from its screws.
- The turbulence left in the air by a moving airplane.
- The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.
- The blade of an oar.
- Ground washed away to the sea or a river.
- Acronym of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
- A bay with multiple estuaries of great ecological importance in eastern England, dividing Lincolnshire from Norfolk.
- A diminutive of the male given name Washington.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *wodsḱéti Proto-Germanic *waskaną Proto-West Germanic *waskan Old English wascan Middle English wasshen English wash Inherited from Middle English wasshen, waschen, weschen (“to wash”), from Old English wascan (“to wash”), from Proto-West Germanic *waskan (“to wash”), from Proto-Germanic *waskaną, *watskaną (“to wash, get wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“wet, water”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian waaske (“to wash”), West Frisian waskje (“to wash”), Dutch wassen, wasschen (“to wash”), Low German waschen (“to wash”), German waschen (“to wash”), Danish vaske (“to wash”), Faroese and Icelandic vaska (“to wash”), Norwegian Bokmål vaske (“to wash”), Norwegian Nynorsk vaske, vaska (“to wash”), Swedish vaska (“to wash”). The noun is cognate with Saterland Frisian Waaske (“wash”), West Frisian wask (“wash”), Dutch was (“wash”), Low German Wask, Waske (“wash”), German Wäsche (“wash”), Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish vask (“wash”).