Laver
name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable. countable, uncountable
"To roast a leg, haunch, or saddle of mutton. […] A modern refinement is to put laver in the dripping-pan, which, in basting, imparts a high gout; or a large saddle may be served over a pound and a half of laver, stewed in brown sauce with catsup and seasonings."
- 2 Where one laves, a washroom, particularly a lavatorium, the washing area in a monastery.
- 3 One who laves: a washer.
- 4 seaweed with edible translucent crinkly green fronds wordnet
- 5 Other seaweeds similar in appearance or use, especially countable, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 That which laves, particularly a washbasin.
"Infinit streames continually did well / Out of this fountaine, sweet and faire to see, / The which into an ample lauer fell […]"
- 7 edible red seaweeds wordnet
- 8 Other seaweeds similar in appearance or use, especially:; Porphyra vulgaris countable, uncountable
- 9 (Old Testament) large basin used by a priest in an ancient Jewish temple to perform ritual ablutions wordnet
- 1 A surname from Anglo-Norman.
- 2 A village in Iran, known for its Kerman carpets.
Example
More examples"In 2015, Novak Djokovic of Serbia became the third man in the Open Era of tennis (starting in 1968), after Rod Laver and Roger Federer, to reach all four Grand Slam finals in a single year."
Etymology
From Middle English laver, lavre, lever, levre, laber (“a kind of water plant”), from Old English læfer, leber (“a rush (plant)”), a borrowing from Latin laver (“water plant”).
From Middle English laver, lavour, from Old French laveoir, laveor, laveour, lavor, lavur, from Latin lavātōrium. Doublet of lavatorium and lavatory.
From lave + -er.
Occupational surname for a washerman, from Anglo-Norman laver.
Related phrases
More for "laver"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.