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Lave
Definitions
- 1 Chiefly in lave ears: of ears: drooping, hanging down. not-comparable, obsolete
"And I ſvveare by the bloud of my codpiece, / An I vvere a vvoman I vvould lug off his laue eares, / Or run him to death vvith a ſpit: […]"
- 1 An act of bathing or washing; a bath or bathe, a wash.
"Once more Arion and his loving nymph / Together rest within their summer cave, / In the green woodland, where the crystal lymph / Through sands and ivy pulsed with ceaseless lave."
- 2 That which is left over; a remainder, a remnant, the rest. uncountable
"Of prelates proud, a populous lave, / And abbots boldly there vvere known. / VVith Biſhop of St. Andrevv's brave, / VVho vvas King James's baſtard ſon."
- 3 The sea. also, figuratively, rare
"When Nature, languid, seems to rest, / Nor moves a leaf, nor heaves a wave, / And Zephyrs sleep, by Sol caress'd, / And sportive swallows skim the lave; […]"
- 4 A relict, a widow. rare, uncountable
- 1 To bathe or wash (someone or something). transitive
"[M]y houſe vvithin the City / Is richly furniſhed vvith plate and gold, / Baſons and evvers to laue her dainty hands: […]"
- 2 Of ears: to droop, to hang down. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"His mouth ſhrinks ſidevvard like a ſcornfull Playſe / To take his tired Eares ingratefull place; / His Eares hang lauing like a nevv-lug'd ſvvine / To take ſome counſell of his grieued eyne, […]"
- 3 wash one's face and hands wordnet
- 4 Of a river or other water body: to flow along or past (a place or thing); to wash. transitive
"VVith roomy decks, her Guns of mighty ſtrength, / (VVhoſe lovv-laid mouthes each mounting billovv laves:) / Deep in her draught, and vvarlike in her length, / She ſeems a Sea-vvaſp flying on the vvaves."
- 5 cleanse (one's body) with soap and water wordnet
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- 6 Followed by into, on, or upon: to pour (water or some other liquid) with or as if with a ladle into or on someone or something; to lade, to ladle. transitive
"Then the Lead being melted, […] it is laved into the Pan, […]"
- 7 wash or flow against wordnet
- 8 To remove (something), as if by washing away with water. figuratively, transitive
"And now, she sat down under the leafless tree, to weep; and in those bitter tears, childhood itself was laved from her soul for ever."
- 9 To surround or gently touch (someone or something), as if with water. figuratively, transitive
"[W]hen the midnight moon did lave / Her forehead in the silver wave, / How solemn on the ear would come / The holy mattin's distant hum, […]"
- 10 Chiefly in sexual contexts: to lick (someone or something). figuratively, transitive
""Who could resist such a temptation?" he drawled, and bent to lave each nipple with his tongue till the satin was wet and clinging."
- 11 Followed by out or up: to draw or scoop (water) out of something with a bucket, scoop, etc.; specifically, to bail (water) out of a boat. archaic, obsolete, transitive
"Thou haſt plaid muſique to my dolefull ſoule; / And vvhen my heart vvas tympaniz'd vvith griefe, / Thou lauedſt out ſome into thy heart from mine, / And kept it ſo from burſting; […]"
- 12 To bathe or wash. intransitive, reflexive
"Happy he that ſips Eternally ſuch Nectar dovvn, that unconfin'd may Lave, and VVanton there in ſateleſs Draughts of ever ſpringing Beauty— […]"
- 13 To surround as if with water. figuratively, intransitive
- 14 Chiefly in sexual contexts; followed by at: to lick. figuratively, intransitive
"Alexander went from laving at her breasts to nuzzling her belly and then his mouth was on her bare thigh, nibbling at her flesh as his fingers delved inside her sheath. She felt herself stretch and squeeze against his long fingers."
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English laven (“to bathe, wash; to bail or draw water, drain, exhaust; to dampen, wet; to pour; of water, etc.: to flow, stream”), and then partly: * from Old French laver (“to be washed; to wash”) (modern French laver (“to wash (oneself)”)), from Latin lavāre, the present active infinitive of lavō (“to bathe, wash; to dampen, wet”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”); and * from Old English lafian (“to bathe; to make wet; to ladle out; to pour”), from Proto-West Germanic *labōn (“to refresh, revitalize; to strengthen”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Latin lavō (see above) but this does not explain the change in meaning from “to wash; to wet” to “to refresh; to strengthen”. Perhaps Old English lafian is derived directly from the Latin word, and Proto-West Germanic *labōn and words in languages derived from it such as Dutch and German are coincidentally similar to the Old English word. The noun is derived from the verb.
The verb is derived from Middle English laven (“to bathe, wash; to bail or draw water, drain, exhaust; to dampen, wet; to pour; of water, etc.: to flow, stream”), and then partly: * from Old French laver (“to be washed; to wash”) (modern French laver (“to wash (oneself)”)), from Latin lavāre, the present active infinitive of lavō (“to bathe, wash; to dampen, wet”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”); and * from Old English lafian (“to bathe; to make wet; to ladle out; to pour”), from Proto-West Germanic *labōn (“to refresh, revitalize; to strengthen”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Latin lavō (see above) but this does not explain the change in meaning from “to wash; to wet” to “to refresh; to strengthen”. Perhaps Old English lafian is derived directly from the Latin word, and Proto-West Germanic *labōn and words in languages derived from it such as Dutch and German are coincidentally similar to the Old English word. The noun is derived from the verb.
From Northern Middle English lave, Middle English love, Early Middle English lafe (“remainder, rest; legacy; relict, widow”), from Old English lāf (“remainder, rest; heirloom; legacy; relict, widow”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibu (“remainder”), from Proto-Germanic *laibō (“remainder, remnant”), from *lībaną (“to be left, to remain”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat or sticky substance”). Doublet of belive (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) to remain, stay”). Cognates * Old English belīfan (“to remain”) * Old High German leiba (“to lave”) * Old Norse leif (“to lave”)
The adjective is from Middle English lave (“of the ears: drooping, hanging down”), from Old Norse lafa, from Proto-Germanic *labēn- (“to dangle”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). The verb is probably derived from the adjective.
The adjective is from Middle English lave (“of the ears: drooping, hanging down”), from Old Norse lafa, from Proto-Germanic *labēn- (“to dangle”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”). The verb is probably derived from the adjective.
See also for "lave"
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