Wash

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /wɒʃ/

Definitions

1. To clean something with water and usually soap or detergent
2. To cleanse a surface or item by applying water and possibly soap, removing dirt and impurities through the process
3. To remove dirt or impurities from an object by applying water often combined with soap ; to move gently and continuously in a way similar to small waves, especially over a surface ; the process or action of cleansing something with water or other liquid

Etymology: The most striking thing about "wash" is how little its core idea has changed while its family tree has spread across northern Europe. Its ancestor, Old English "wascan", meant simply to wash, and it descends from a Proto-Germanic verb that could also mean "to get wet." That older sense is a useful clue: the word was about contact with water first, and cleaning second. The same root reaches far beyond English. Dutch "wassen", German "waschen", Swedish "vaska", and Icelandic "vaska" all come from the same ancestral verb, as do the nouns for a wash or a laundry load: German "Wäsche" and Swedish "vask". English kept the verb and the noun, so a single ancient stem still sits behind a German laundry room and an English wash basin.

Synonyms: clean, rinse, scrub, cleanse, bathe

Antonyms: dirty, soil