Prewashed

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Describing fabric or clothing that has already been laundered at the factory so it shrinks less when first worn
2. Referring to goods, such as denim or cotton, that have been given a wash in advance of being sold to customers
3. Said of material that has undergone a washing treatment beforehand, making it softer and more stable for the buyer

Etymology: "Prewashed" is the past tense and past participle of "prewash," a verb built from the prefix "pre-" (before) and "wash." The prefix comes from Latin "prae," meaning "before" or "in front of," which passed into English through Middle English as a productive element for forming words that describe something done in advance. The base word traces back much further. "Wash" descends from Old English "wascan," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic verb "waskaną," and ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root for water, *wed-, which also gave us "water" itself. So the sense of cleaning with water is embedded in the verb's deepest ancestry. Put together, "prewash" describes washing something before the main wash, and "prewashed" names the state of fabric or clothing that has already been through that preliminary cycle.

Synonyms: pretreated, pre-rinsed

Antonyms: unwashed