Word: wash Part of Speech: noun 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 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”). Pronunciation: /wɒʃ/, /wɛʃ/, /wɑʃ/, /wɔʃ/, /wɔɹʃ/ 1. The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I'm going to have a quick wash before coming to bed. Example: My jacket needs a wash. 2. A liquid used for washing. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: mouth wash Example: hand wash 4. The quantity of clothes washed at a time. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: There's a lot in that wash: maybe you should split it into two piles. 5. A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I could hear the wash of the wave. Example: […] the wind in the cordage and the wash of the sea helped the more to put them beyond earshot […] 7. The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular: Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The ship left a big wash Example: Sail away from the wash to avoid rocking the boat. 8. The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular: Labels: countable, uncountable 9. The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular: Labels: countable, uncountable 10. The blade of an oar. Labels: countable, uncountable 11. Ground washed away to the sea or a river. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The wash of pastures, fields, commons, and roads, […]where rain water hath a long time settled. 12. A piece of ground washed by the action of water, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: These Lincoln washes have devoured them. 13. A shallow body of water. Labels: countable, uncountable 14. In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Near-synonyms: arroyo, wadi, nahal (synonymous other than regiolectal specificity) Example: 1997, Stanley Desmond Smith, et al. Physiological Ecology of North American Desert Plants, Nature In some desert-wash systems (which have been termed “xero-riparian”) 15. A situation in which gains and losses or advantages and disadvantages are equivalent, or in which there is no net change. Labels: countable, idiomatic, uncountable Example: I knew that for every vote I cast for, say, the Republicans, some kid at a polling place nearby was casting his votes for the Democrats, so it was probably a wash or close to it. 16. A fictitious kind of sale of stock or other securities between parties of one interest, or by a broker who is both buyer and seller, and who minds his own interest rather than that of his clients. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable 17. Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs; pigwash. Labels: countable, uncountable 18. In distilling, the fermented wort before the spirit is extracted. Labels: countable, uncountable 19. A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: In order to augment the vinosity of the wash, many substances are recommended by Dr. Shaw, such as tartar, nitre, common salt, and the vegetable or mineral acids. 20. A thin coat of paint or metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation. Labels: countable, uncountable 21. Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters. Labels: countable, uncountable 22. The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water; hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: a carriage wash in a stable 23. A lighting effect that fills a scene with a chosen colour. Labels: countable, uncountable 24. A lighting fixture that can cast a wide beam of light to evenly fill an area with light, as opposed to a spotlight. Labels: countable, uncountable 25. A total failure; a washout. Labels: countable, uncountable