Washings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The activity of using water or other liquids to eliminate grime or contaminants from surfaces
2. The process of applying water or a cleansing liquid to remove dirt or impurities from an object or area
3. Using liquid substances to clean or rinse off unwanted material from surfaces or skin

Etymology: "Washings" is the plural of "washing," and the plural's main use is in the sense of the liquid itself: the water left over from cleaning, or the water used to rinse something. The noun traces back to Old English, where a form resembling "wæsċing" (or the earlier "weasċing," attested in a compound) was formed from the verb "wash" plus the suffix "-ing," which turns an action into a noun. Its ancestor is Proto-West Germanic, and close relatives survive in West Frisian, Dutch, and German, where Dutch "wassing" and German "Waschung" carry the same idea of washing. Because it is a plural, "washings" can name several distinct batches of liquid rather than the act of washing in general. The plural form is what the word usually takes when it names the cleansing liquid itself.

Synonyms: cleansings, laundries, rinsings, baths, scrubbings