lavabo

noun /ləˈveɪbəʊ/

1. A ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist.

2. The small towel used to dry the priest's hands following the ritual.

   These small liturgical towels got […] the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes.

3. A washbasin, particularly (Christianity) the one in a church used in the ritual.

   […] the […] pontiff, as he […] moved his hands […] at the Lavabo, or at the various benedictions […]

4. A trough used for washing at some medieval monasteries.

Where it comes from

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”). The sense of "room with a toilet" developed under the influence of lavatory and lav.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry lavabo (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← lautitiouslavant →

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