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English
Etymology
From the Christian ritual, which was traditionally accompanied in Catholicism by a recitation of Psalm 25:6 (Psalm 26:6, in the Hebrew and in most modern translations) which in Latin begins with the word lavābō (“I will wash”).[1][2] The sense of "room with a toilet" developed under the influence of lavatory and lav.
Pronunciation
Noun
lavabo (plural lavabos or lavaboes)
- (Christianity) A ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist.
- Synonym: lavatory
- (Christianity) The small towel used to dry the priest's hands following the ritual.
1870, Daniel Rock, Textile Fabrics, page 203:These small liturgical towels got […] the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes.
- A washbasin, particularly (Christianity) the one in a church used in the ritual.
- Synonym: washbasin
1885, Walter Horatio Peter, Marius the Epicurean, Bk. iv, Ch. xxiii:[…] the […] pontiff, as he […] moved his hands […] at the Lavabo, or at the various benedictions […]
- (architecture) A trough used for washing at some medieval monasteries.
- (humorous, euphemistic) A lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom
1930, Dorothy L. Sayers, chapter XIV, in Strong Poision, page 177:Mr. Pond fussed out and she heard the door of the little lavabo in the passage open with a loud creak.
Translations
References
Catalan
Pronunciation
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabos)
- lavabo, washbasin, sink
- toilet
- Synonym: vàter
- (metonymically) bathroom
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French lavabo, from Latin lavābō (“I will wash”), first-person singular future active indicative of lavō, lavāre (“wash, bathe”, verb).
Pronunciation
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabo's, diminutive lavabootje n)
- (Belgium) sink, washbasin
References
van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “lavabo”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lavābō (“I will wash”), first-person singular future active indicative of lavō, lavāre (“wash, bathe”, verb).
Pronunciation
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabos)
- washbasin
Descendants
Further reading
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /laˈva.bo/
- Rhymes: -abo
- Hyphenation: la‧và‧bo
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabi or invariable)
- sink, in particular of a bathroom
- lavabo
Synonyms
Latin
Verb
lavābō
- first-person singular future active indicative of lavō
Norman
Etymology
From Latin lavābō (“I will wash”), first-person singular future active indicative of lavō, lavāre (“wash, bathe”).
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabos)
- (Jersey) washbasin
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lavābō (“I shall clean”).
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -abu
- Hyphenation: la‧va‧bo
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabos)
- lavabo (washbasin, especially one used for ceremonious washing)
- Synonym: lavatório
- (chiefly in the plural) lavatory (room containing a toilet)
- Synonyms: casa de banho, banheiro, lavatório, WC
Serbo-Croatian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /laʋǎboː/
- Hyphenation: la‧va‧bo
Noun
lavàbō m (Cyrillic spelling лава̀бо̄)
- sink, washbasin
- lavabo
Declension
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lavābō, first person singular future indicative of lavāre.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /laˈbabo/
- Rhymes: -abo
- Syllabification: la‧va‧bo
Noun
lavabo m (plural lavabos)
- bathroom sink, washbasin
See also
Further reading
Turkish
Etymology
Borrowed from French lavabo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (standard) /laˈva.bo/, (some speakers) /ɫaˈva.bo/, (in fast speech) /ˈlaːbo/, /ˈɫaːbo/
- Hyphenation: la‧va‧bo
Noun
lavabo (definite accusative lavaboyu, plural lavabolar)
- washbasin
- (euphemistic) toilet
- Synonym: tuvalet
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- “lavabo”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
- Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “lavabo”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
- Ayverdi, İlhan (2010) “lavabo”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
- Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “lavabo”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 3, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 2881