wash English · revision 5037

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=900|origins=gem-pro *watskaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /wɒʃ/, US /wɑːʃ/, /wɔːʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|washen]], [[inh|ang|wascan|alt=wascan, wæscan|t=to cleanse, bathe]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*watskaną|alt=*watskan]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Dutch wassen and German waschen,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed from the stem of [[water]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To cleanse with water: 900 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) In Old English it was used mainly of clothes, and the usual verb for washing the body or dishes was þwēan.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of the sea, to flow over or against, it is from the 13th century,^(Hoad 1986) and to remove with water from the 15th.^(Hoad 1986) ''Wash one's hands of'', to refuse further involvement, is by the 1550s, an image from Pilate in Matthew 27:24.^(Etymonline) To wash down food with a drink is by about 1600,^(Etymonline) and ''wash up'', to clean dishes after a meal, from 1751.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun, an act of washing clothes, is from late Old English,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) land alternately covered and exposed by the sea from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) a thin coat of paint from the 1690s,^(Etymonline) clothes set aside for washing from 1789,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the waves left behind a moving boat later.^(Etymonline) ''Come out in the wash'' is by 1903.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 900 – to cleanse with water.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1050 – noun, a washing of clothes.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1550s – ''wash one's hands of''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1690s – a thin coat of paint.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1751 – ''wash up''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1789 – the laundry.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1903 – ''come out in the wash''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To clean something or someone with water, usually with [[soap]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of water, to flow over or against something: ''waves washing the shore''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To carry something away by water.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To be believed: ''that excuse won't wash''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of washing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Clothes to be washed or just washed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The waves left behind a moving boat.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A thin layer of colour or paint.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A liquid used for washing, such as a mouthwash.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dishwasher]]

+ * [[unwashed]]

+ * [[wash-and-wear]]

+ * [[washer]]

+ * [[whitewash]]

+ * [[underwash]]

+ * [[washable]]

+ * [[washeteria]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[water]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}