lave

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See also: Lave, lavé, lavě, låve, and ľavé

English

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WOTD – 24 August 2024

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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”),[1] and then partly:[2]

The noun is derived from the verb.[4]

Verb

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lave (third-person singular simple present laves, present participle laving, simple past and past participle laved) (archaic except literary, poetic)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To bathe or wash (someone or something).
    2. Of a river or other water body: to flow along or past (a place or thing); to wash.
    3. 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.
      • 1703, Richard Neve, “Lead”, in The City and Country Purchaser, and Builder’s Dictionary: Or, The Compleat Builders Guide. […], 2nd edition, London: […] D. Browne, […]; J. and B. Sprint […], G. Conyers […]; and Ch[arles] Rivington […], published 1726, →OCLC, column 2:
        Then the Lead being melted, […] it is laved into the Pan, […]
    4. (figurative)
      1. To remove (something), as if by washing away with water.
        • 1843, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], “The Broken Gittern”, in The Last of the Barons, volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I (The Adventures of Master Marmaduke Nevile), page 36:
          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.
      2. To surround or gently touch (someone or something), as if with water.
      3. Chiefly in sexual contexts: to lick (someone or something).
        • 1998, Miranda Lee, The Boss’s Baby, Richmond, Surrey: Harlequin Mills & Boon, →ISBN, page 102:
          "Who could resist such a temptation?" he drawled, and bent to lave each nipple with his tongue till the satin was wet and clinging.
        • 2014 February 21, Scarlet Blackwell, Beached Hearts, Lincoln, Lincolnshire: Total-E-Bound Publishing, →ISBN:
          Liam's mouth was so hot and wet on his cock, his tongue so wicked, laving his shaft expertly with smooth, slick strokes, delving into his slit and swiping away the fluid leaking from it. Why was Liam doing this?
        • 2011, Karen Foley, chapter 8, in Devil in Dress Blues, Don Mills, Ont.: Harlequin Enterprises, →ISBN, page 111:
          He continued to lave her with gentle laps, while his fingers caressed her until she cried out and her whole body convulsed.
    5. (archaic or obsolete) 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.
      • c. 1613–1618 (first performance), Thomas Goffe, The Tragedy of Orestes, […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Richard Meighen, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act IIII, scene ii, signature F2, verso:
        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; […]
        A figurative use.
      • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “An Heape of Other Accidents Causing Melancholy. Death of Friends, Losses, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 2, member 4, subsection 7, page 148:
        [W]hen I haue laved the Sea dry, thou ſhalt vnderſtand the myſtery of the Trinity; […]
      • 1644 October 25 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 15 October 1644]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 73:
        And now, as we were weary with pumping and laving out the water [from the boat], almost sinking, it pleas'd God on the suddaine to appease the wind, and with much ado and greate perill we recover'd the shore, which we now kept in view, […]
      • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Ceyx and Alcyone”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 365:
        Each in his vvay, officiously they vvrought; / Some ſtovv their Oars, or ſtop the leaky Sides, / Another bolder yet the Yard beſtrides, / And folds the Sails; a fourth vvith Labour, laves, / Th'intruding Seas, and VVaves ejects on VVaves.
  2. (intransitive)
    1. (reflexive) To bathe or wash.
      • 1700 (date written), Colley Cibber, Love Makes a Man: Or, The Fop’s Fortune. A Comedy. […], London: […] Richard Parker […], Hugh Newman […], and E. Rumbal […], published 1701, →OCLC, Act II, page 19:
        Happy he that ſips Eternally ſuch Nectar dovvn, that unconfin'd may Lave, and VVanton there in ſateleſs Draughts of ever ſpringing Beauty— […]
      • 1713, [Alexander] Pope, Windsor-Forest. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 9:
        The ſilver Stream her Virgin Coldneſs keeps, / For ever murmurs, and for ever vveeps; / […] / In her chaſt Current oft the Goddeſs laves, / And vvith Celeſtial Tears augments the VVaves.
    2. (figurative)
      1. To surround as if with water.
      2. Chiefly in sexual contexts; followed by at: to lick.
        • 2011, Eliza Knight, chapter 10, in A Lady’s Charade (The Rules of Chivalry; 1), [South Carolina]: CreateSpace Independent, →ISBN, page 122:
          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.
        • 2015, Melissa Foster, Healed by Love (Love in Bloom; The Bradens at Peaceful Harbor; 1), Los Gatos, Calif.: Smashwords, →ISBN:
          He pressed them back down and continued licking, laving at her as her inner muscles contracted around his fingers and she panted out his name. He didn't relent until the last shudder rippled through her beautiful body.
        • 2016 April 15, Elizabeth Lennox, chapter 9, in The Prince’s Forbidden Lover (The Samara Royal Family Series; 3), [S.l.]: Elizabeth Lennox Books, →ISBN:
          [I]t took only a few moments of his tongue laving at her core before she was exploding in a mind-drugging climax that made her throat sore from her cries.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of lave
infinitive (to) lave
present tense past tense
1st-person singular lave laved
2nd-person singular lave, lavest† laved, lavedst†
3rd-person singular laves, laveth† laved
plural lave
subjunctive lave laved
imperative lave —
participles laving laved

†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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lave (plural laves) (archaic except literary, poetic)

  1. An act of bathing or washing; a bath or bathe, a wash.
  2. (rare, also figurative) The sea.
    • 1826, Bernard Blackmantle [pseudonym; Charles Molloy Westmacott], “Noon in the Isle of Wight”, in The English Spy: […], volume II, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, […], →OCLC, page 168:
      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; […]
Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Northern Middle English lave, Middle English love, Early Middle English lafe (“remainder, rest; legacy; relict, widow”),[5] 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”),[6] probably from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat or sticky substance”). Doublet of belive (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) to remain, stay”).

cognates

Noun

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lave (uncountable) (obsolete except Scotland)

  1. That which is left over; a remainder, a remnant, the rest.
    Synonyms: residue; see also Thesaurus:remainder
  2. (rare) A relict, a widow.
Alternative forms
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Etymology 3

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The adjective is from Middle English lave (“of the ears: drooping, hanging down”),[7] from Old Norse lafa,[8] from Proto-Germanic *labēn- (“to dangle”), from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang down loosely (?)”).

The verb is probably derived from the adjective.[9]

Adjective

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lave (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Chiefly in lave ears: of ears: drooping, hanging down.
    • 1606, A Pleasant Comedie. Called Wily Beguilde. […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Clement Knight […], →OCLC, page 58:
      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: […]
    • 1675, John Smith, “Reason Nonplus’d, Help’d by Religion, Acquiesceth in Her Resolutions”, in Christian Religion’s Appeal from the Groundless Prejudices of the Sceptick, to the Bar of Common Reason. […], London: […] Nathanael Brook, […], →OCLC, 2nd book (The Apostles were Not Themselves Deluded, No Crack’d-brain Enthusiasticks, but Persons of Most Composed Minds), §. 1 (Man’s Supremacy over the Creatures, the Reason of It Not Cognoscible by Natural Light), pages 8–9:
      [C]omplexion here red, there tavvny, in another Country black vvins the prize: for proportion, here the tall, there the mean, here the ſlender, there the groſs, here the little Ear, there the lave Ear, here the thin Lip, there the Blubber-lip, here the ſtreight, there the die Neck are eſteemed moſt courtly.

Verb

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lave (third-person singular simple present laves, present participle laving, simple past and past participle laved)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete, rare) Of ears: to droop, to hang down.
    • 1598, [Joseph Hall], “Lib[er] 4. Sat[yr] 1. Che baiar Vuol, bai.”, in Virgidemiarum. The Three Last Bookes. Of Byting Satyres, London: […] Richard Bradocke for Robert Dexter […], →OCLC, page 7:
      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, […]

References

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  1. ^ “lāven, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “lave, v.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “lave, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “laben”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 423: “wg. *lab-ō- swV. ‘erfrischen, waschen’”
  4. ^ “lave, n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  5. ^ “lōve, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  6. ^ Compare “lave, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2023.
  7. ^ “lāve, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  8. ^ “lave, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2023.
  9. ^ “lave, v.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈlaːvə/, [ˈlɛːʋə], [ˈlɛːʊ]
  • Rhymes: -aːvə

Etymology 1

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From Old Norse laga, derived from lag (“layer”). Cognate with Norwegian lage, Swedish laga.

Verb

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lave (imperative lav, infinitive at lave, present tense laver, past tense lavede, perfect tense har lavet)

  1. to make, create, construct, produce
    Denne fabrik laver madrasser.
    This factory makes mattresses.
  2. to cook, prepare
    at lave mad
    to cook (lit. "to make food")
    Jeg laver kødboller til aftensmad.
    I'm making meatballs for dinner.
  3. to do
    Hvad skal vi lave i dag?
    What shall we do today?
  4. to repair, mend, fix
    Skal jeg lave din jakke?
    Shall I fix your jacket?
Conjugation
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Inflection of lave
present past
simple laver lavede
perfect har lavet havde lavet
passive laves lavedes
participle lavende lavet
imperative lav —
infinitive lave —
auxiliary verb have —
gerund laven —

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

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lave

  1. definite of lav
  2. plural of lav

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

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lave c

  1. (obsolete) dative singular indefinite of lag
Usage notes
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Only used in the fixed expression af lave (“out of order”).

French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lave f (plural laves)

  1. (usually uncountable) lava

Derived terms

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Verb

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lave

  1. inflection of laver:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Galician

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Verb

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lave

  1. inflection of lavar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Haitian Creole

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Etymology

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From French laver (“wash”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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lave

  1. to wash

Italian

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Noun

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lave f

  1. plural of lava

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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lave

  1. (Northern) Alternative form of love (“remainder”)

Etymology 2

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Verb

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lave

  1. Alternative form of laven

Norwegian Bokmål

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Adjective

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lave

  1. definite singular of lav
  2. plural of lav

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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lave

  1. inflection of lavar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lave f

  1. inflection of lavă:
    1. indefinite plural
    2. indefinite genitive/dative singular

Scots

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Etymology

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Middle Scots lave, laif, lafe (“remainder, rest, that which is left”), from Old English lāf (“lave, remainder, rest”). Akin to Old High German leiba (“lave”), Old Norse leif (“lave”), Old English belīfan (“to remain”). More at leave.

Noun

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lave

  1. (archaic) rest, remainder.
    Ye are bit a wumman lik the lave, an ye maun thole the brunt o whit life mey bring. — Janet's Love and Service

Spanish

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Verb

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lave

  1. inflection of lavar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
lave (tower)
sauna with two benches (lave)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Swedish lavi, possibly from the root of loge (“kind of barn”), from which is the Norwegian Nynorsk låve derived from.

The other version derives it to Slavic origins, through Finnish. Ultimately from Proto-Balto-Slavic *lā́ˀwāˀ. Cognate with modern Russian лавка (lavka) and modern Finnish lava.

May be of two different origins, as it is two different meanings of the word.

Noun

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lave c

  1. a towerlike building atop a mine shaft, common in Scandinavia during 19th century
    Synonym: gruvlave
  2. a wooden bench in a sauna
    Synonyms: bastulave, lav

Declension

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Declension of lave
nominative genitive
singular indefinite lave laves
definite laven lavens
plural indefinite lavar lavars
definite lavarna lavarnas

References

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Anagrams

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