[wosh-ing, waw-shing] Pronunciation Key | 1. | the act of a person or thing that washes; ablution. |
| 2. | clothes, linens, etc., washed or to be washed, esp. those washed at one time; wash. |
| 3. | Often, washings. any liquid that has been used to wash something. |
| 4. | matter removed or carried off in washing something or by the force of water: The washings from numerous spring floods had clogged the mouth of the river. |
| 5. | Mining.
|
| 6. | wash (def. 45). |
| 7. | the act of making a wash sale. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| wash
(wŏsh, wôsh) Pronunciation Key
v. washed, wash·ing, wash·es v. tr.
v. intr.
n.
adj.
Phrasal Verb(s): wash down
Idiom(s): come out in the wash Slang
Idiom(s): wash (one's) hands of
[Middle English washen, from Old English wacsan, wæscan; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| wash·ing
(wŏsh'ĭng, wô'shĭng) Pronunciation Key
n.
|
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| washing | |
noun | |
| 1. | the work of cleansing (usually with soap and water) [syn: wash] |
| 2. | garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering [syn: laundry] |
Washing
Wash"ing\, n. 1. (Mining) Gold dust procured by washing; also, a place where this is done; a washery. 2. A thin covering or coat; as, a washing of silver. 3. (Stock Exchanges) The operation of simultaneously buying and selling the same stock for the purpose of manipulating the market. The transaction is fictitious, and is prohibited by stock-exchange rules. 4. (Pottery) The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze.Washing
Wash"ing\, n. 1. The act of one who washes; the act of cleansing with water; ablution. 2. The clothes washed, esp. at one time; a wash. Washing bear (Zo["o]l.), the raccoon. Washing bottle (Chem.), a bottle fitted with glass tubes passing through the cork, so that on blowing into one of the tubes a stream of water issuing from the other may be directed upon anything to be washed or rinsed, as a precipitate upon a filter, etc. Washing fluid, a liquid used as a cleanser, and consisting usually of alkaline salts resembling soaps in their action. Washing machine, a machine for washing; specifically, a machine for washing clothes. Washing soda. (Chem.) See Sodium carbonate, under Sodium. Washing stuff, any earthy deposit containing gold enough to pay for washing it; -- so called among gold miners.Washing
(Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which "the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, 'rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.'" To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See ABLUTION.)
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