King James Bible Dictionary

WASH, verb transitive [G.]

1. To cleanse by ablution, or by rubbing in water; as, to wash the hands or the body; to wash garments.

2. To wet; to fall on and moisten; as, the rain washes the flowers or plants.

3. To overflow. The tides wash the meadows.

4. To overflow or dash against; to cover with water; as, the waves wash the strand or shore; the sea washes the rocks on the shore or beach.

5. To scrub in water; as, to wash a deck or a floor.

6. To separate extraneous matter from; as, to wash ore; to wash grain.

7. In painting, to lay a color over any work with a pencil, to give it the proper tints, and make it appear more natural. Thus work is washed with a pale red to imitate brick, etc.

8. To rub over with some liquid substance; as, to wash trees fro removing insects or diseases.

9. To squeeze and cleanse in water; as, to wash wool. So sheep are said to be washed, when they are immersed in water and their wool squeezed, by which means it is cleansed.

10. To cleanse by a current of water; as, showers wash the streets.

11. To overlay with a thin coat of metal; as steel washed with silver.

12. To purify from the pollution of sin.

But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified. 1 Corinthians 6:11.

To wash a ship, to bring all her guns to one side to make her heel, and then to wash and scrape her side.

WASH, verb intransitive

1. To perform the act of ablution.

WASH in Jordan seven times. 2 Kings 5:10. [Elliptical.]

2. To perform the business of cleansing clothes in water.

She can wash and scour.

To wash off, in calico-printing, to soak and rinse printed calicoes, to dissolve and remove the gum and paste.

WASH, noun

1. Alluvial matter; substances collected and deposited by water; as the wash of a river.

2. A bog; a marsh; a fen.

Neptunes salt wash

3. A cosmetic; as a wash for the face, to help the complexion.

4. A lotion; a medical liquid preparation for external application.

5. A superficial stain or color.

6. Waste liquor of a kitchen for hogs.

7. The act of washing the clothes of a family; or the whole quantity washed at once. There is a great wash or a small wash

8. With distillers, the fermentable liquor made b dissolving the proper subject for fermentation and distillation in common water. In the distillery of malt, the wash is made by mixing the water hot, with the malt ground into meal.

9. The shallow part of a river, or arm of the sea; as the wastes in Lincolnshire.

10. The blade of an oar; the thin part, which enters the water and by whose impulse the boat is moved.

11. The color laid on a picture to vary its tints.

12. A substance laid on boards or other work for beauty or preservation.

13. A thin coat of metal.

14. In the west Indies, a mixture of dunder, molasses, water and scummings, for distillation.

WASH-BALL, noun [wash and ball.] A ball of soap, to be used in washing the hands or face.

WASH-BOARD, noun [wash and board.]

1. A broad thin plank, fixed occasionally on the top of a boat or other small vessels side, to prevent the sea from breaking over; also, a piece of plank on the sill of a lower deck port for the same purpose.

2. A board in a room, next to the floor.

WASHED, participle passive

1. Cleansed in water; purified.

2. Overflowed; dashed against with water.

3. Covered over with a thin coat, as of metal.

WASHER, noun

1. One who washes.

2. An iron ring between the nave of a wheel and the linch-pin.

WASHER-WOMAN, noun A woman that washes clothes for others or for hire.

(Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which "the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.'" To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See ABLUTION.)

Of hands, a token of innocency
Deuteronomy 21:6; Psalms 26:6; Psalms 73:13; Matthew 27:24
Ablution; Purification

Figurative of regeneration
Psalms 51:7; Proverbs 30:12; Isaiah 1:16; Isaiah 4:4; Zech 13:1; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5

WASHING, participle present tense Cleansing with water; purifying; overflowing; overspreading.

WASHING, noun

1. The act of cleansing with water; ablution. Hebrews 9:10.

2. A wash; or the clothes washed.

As knives and forks were not used in the East, in Scripture times, in eating, it was necessary that the hand, which was thrust into the common dish, should be scrupulously clean; and again, as sandals were ineffectual against the dust and heat of the climate, washing the feet on entering a house was an act both of respect to the company and of refreshment to the traveller. The former of these usages was transformed by the Pharisees of the New Testament age into a matter of ritual observance, (Mark 7:3) and special rules were laid down as to the time and manner of its performance. Washing the feet did not rise to the dignity of a ritual observance except in connection with the services of the sanctuary. (Exodus 30:19,21) It held a high place, however, among the rites of hospitality. Immediately that a guest presented himself at the tent door it was usual to offer the necessary materials for washing the feet. (Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24; Judges 19:21) It was a yet more complimentary act, betokening equally humility and affection, if the host himself performed the office for his guest. (1 Samuel 25:41; Luke 7:38,44; John 13:5-14; 1 Timothy 5:10) Such a token of hospitality is still occasionally exhibited in the East.

WASH-POT, noun A vessel in which any thing is washed.

WASH-TUB, noun A tub in which clothes are washed.

WASHY, adjective [from wash.]

1. Watery; damp; soft; as the washy ooze.

2. Weak; not solid.

3. Weak; not firm or hardy; liable to sweat profusely with labor; as a washy horse. [New England.]