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Lave

 - 5 dictionary results

lave

1  [leyv] verb, laved, lav⋅ing.
Use Lave in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to wash; bathe.
2. (of a river, sea, etc.) to flow along, against, or past; wash.
3. Obsolete. to ladle; pour or dip with a ladle.
–verb (used without object)
4. Archaic. to bathe.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME laven, partly < OF laver < L lavāre to wash; partly repr. OE lafian to pour water on, wash, itself perh. < L lavāre

lave

2  [leyv]
–noun Scot.
the remainder; the rest.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME (Scots); OE lāf; c. OHG leiba, ON leif, Goth laiba; akin to leave 1

lave

3  [leyv]
–adjective British.
(of ears) large and drooping.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; special use of lave 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Lave
lave   (lāv)   
v.   laved, lav·ing, laves

v.   tr.

  1. To wash; bathe.

  2. To lap or wash against.

  3. To refresh or soothe as if by washing: "The quiet and the cool laved her" (Edna Ferber).

v.   intr. Archaic
To wash oneself.

[Middle English laven, from Old English gelafian and from Old French laver, both from Latin lavāre; see leu(ə)- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lave 
O.E. gelafian "wash by pouring, pour (water)," possibly an early Eng. or W.Gmc. borrowing of L. lavare "to wash," or its O.Fr. descendant, laver. L. lavare is from PIE *lou- "to wash" (cf. L. luere "to wash," Gk. louein "to wash, bathe," O.Ir. loathar "basin," Bret. laouer "trough," O.E. leaþor "lather").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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