laver

See also: Laver and lavêr

English

Etymology 1

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑːvə/, /ˈleɪvə/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Audio (Southern England):

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪvɚ/, /ˈlɑvɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɑːvə(ɹ), -eɪvə(ɹ)
• Homophones: lava, larva (non-rhotic, with the "broad a" pronunciation)
• Hyphenation: lav‧er

Noun

laver (countable and uncountable, plural lavers)

1. A red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable.
   • 1847, Margaret Dods [pseudonym; Christian Isobel Johnstone], “Roasting”, in The Cook and Housewife’s Manual. […], 8th edition, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd; London; Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 19, pages 106–107:

     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. Other seaweeds similar in appearance or use, especially:
   1. Porphyra vulgaris

Derived terms

• black laver (Porphyra dioica)
• green laver (Ulva lactuca, Monostroma grevillei)
• kelp laver (Porphyra drachii)
• laverbread (Porphyra umbilicalis)
• laver slack (Porphyra umbilicalis)
• laver sloke (Porphyra umbilicalis)
• lettuce laver (Ulva lactuca)
• northern pink laver (Porphyra amplissima)
• pale patch laver (Porphyra leucosticta)
• purple laver (Porphyra nereocystis, Porphyra umbilicalis; Ulva lactuca)
• red laver (Porphyra nereocystis, Porphyra suborbiculata, Porphyra perforata, Porphyra umbilicalis)
• tough laver (Porphyra umbilicalis)
• winter laver (Porphyra linearis)

Related terms

• Liverpool

Descendants

• → Welsh: lafwr, lawr

Translations

Porphyra umbilicalis

• German: Nabel-Purpurtang m, Purpurtang m, Hauttang m, Nabel-Hauttang m
• Irish: glasarnacht f, sleabhac m
• Korean: 김 (ko) (gim), 파래 (parae)
• Scottish Gaelic: slòcan m
• Swedish: navelsloke (sv) n, veckad purpurhinna c
• Welsh: lawr m, lafwr m

an edible seaweed

• Māori: karengo, parengo
• Swedish: sloke (sv) n, purpurhinna c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can

See also

• nori

Etymology 2

From Middle English laver, lavour, from Old French laveoir, laveor, laveour, lavor, lavur, from Latin lavātōrium. Doublet of lavatorium and lavatory.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪvə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪvɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪvə(ɹ)

Noun

laver (plural lavers)

1. Where one laves, a washroom, particularly a lavatorium, the washing area in a monastery.
2. That which laves, particularly a washbasin.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Infinit streames continually did well / Out of this fountaine, sweet and faire to see, / The which into an ample lauer fell […]

3. The spiritual washing or ablution of baptism.
   • 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 282:

     She was afterwards regenerated by the laver of holy baptism, and lived for many years in the service of that knight (as I have frequently heard from him and his family), and was rather loose and wanton in her conduct.

Synonyms

• (washbasin): See washbasin

Translations

a washroom; lavatorium

• German: Waschraum (de) m (general term), Brunnenhaus n (monastery), Lavatorium n (monastery)

a washbasin — see washbasin

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

English lave

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -er

English laver

From lave + -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪvə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈleɪvɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪvə(ɹ)

Noun

laver (plural lavers)

1. One who laves: a washer.

Translations

a washer — see washer

Anagrams

• Ravel, arvel, larve, ravel, reval, velar

Danish

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɑwˀɐ]

Noun

laver c or n (lichen)

1. indefinite plural of lav

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaːvɐ/, [ˈlɛːwɐ], [ˈlɛːwɒ̽]

Verb

laver

1. present tense of lave

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French laver, from Latin lavāre, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la.ve/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

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• Audio (France (Paris)):

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• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France):

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• Audio (France (Grenoble)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Hérault)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Massy)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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Verb

laver

1. to wash
2. (reflexive) to wash oneself

Conjugation

Conjugation of laver (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	laver
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	lavant /la.vɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		lavé /la.ve/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	lave /lav/	laves /lav/	lave /lav/	lavons /la.vɔ̃/	lavez /la.ve/	lavent /lav/
	imperfect	lavais /la.vɛ/	lavais /la.vɛ/	lavait /la.vɛ/	lavions /la.vjɔ̃/	laviez /la.vje/	lavaient /la.vɛ/
	past historic2	lavai /la.ve/	lavas /la.va/	lava /la.va/	lavâmes /la.vam/	lavâtes /la.vat/	lavèrent /la.vɛʁ/
	future	laverai /la.vʁe/	laveras /la.vʁa/	lavera /la.vʁa/	laverons /la.vʁɔ̃/	laverez /la.vʁe/	laveront /la.vʁɔ̃/
	conditional	laverais /la.vʁɛ/	laverais /la.vʁɛ/	laverait /la.vʁɛ/	laverions /la.və.ʁjɔ̃/	laveriez /la.və.ʁje/	laveraient /la.vʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	lave /lav/	laves /lav/	lave /lav/	lavions /la.vjɔ̃/	laviez /la.vje/	lavent /lav/
	imperfect2	lavasse /la.vas/	lavasses /la.vas/	lavât /la.va/	lavassions /la.va.sjɔ̃/	lavassiez /la.va.sje/	lavassent /la.vas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	lave /lav/	—	lavons /la.vɔ̃/	lavez /la.ve/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Conjugation of se laver (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	se laver
	compound	s'être + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	se lavant /sə la.vɑ̃/
	compound	ayant or étant + past participle
past participle		lavé /la.ve/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	me lave /mə lav/	te laves /tə lav/	se lave /sə lav/	nous lavons /nu la.vɔ̃/	vous lavez /vu la.ve/	se lavent /sə lav/
	imperfect	me lavais /mə la.vɛ/	te lavais /tə la.vɛ/	se lavait /sə la.vɛ/	nous lavions /nu la.vjɔ̃/	vous laviez /vu la.vje/	se lavaient /sə la.vɛ/
	past historic2	me lavai /mə la.ve/	te lavas /tə la.va/	se lava /sə la.va/	nous lavâmes /nu la.vam/	vous lavâtes /vu la.vat/	se lavèrent /sə la.vɛʁ/
	future	me laverai /mə la.vʁe/	te laveras /tə la.vʁa/	se lavera /sə la.vʁa/	nous laverons /nu la.vʁɔ̃/	vous laverez /vu la.vʁe/	se laveront /sə la.vʁɔ̃/
	conditional	me laverais /mə la.vʁɛ/	te laverais /tə la.vʁɛ/	se laverait /sə la.vʁɛ/	nous laverions /nu la.və.ʁjɔ̃/	vous laveriez /vu la.və.ʁje/	se laveraient /sə la.vʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of s'être + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of s'être + past participle
	future perfect	future of s'être + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of s'être + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	me lave /mə lav/	te laves /tə lav/	se lave /sə lav/	nous lavions /nu la.vjɔ̃/	vous laviez /vu la.vje/	se lavent /sə lav/
	imperfect2	me lavasse /mə la.vas/	te lavasses /tə la.vas/	se lavât /sə la.va/	nous lavassions /nu la.va.sjɔ̃/	vous lavassiez /vu la.va.sje/	se lavassent /sə la.vas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of s'être + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	lave-toi /lav.twa/	—	lavons-nous /la.vɔ̃.nu/	lavez-vous /la.ve.vu/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	simple imperative of s'être + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

• entrelaver
• laver son linge sale en public
• machine à laver
• planche à laver
• poudre à laver
• se laver les mains

Related terms

• latrines
• lavable
• lavage
• laverie
• laveur
• laveuse
• lavoir
• lavure
• lotion

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: lave
• Mauritian Creole: lave

Further reading

• “laver”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• larve

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɫa.wɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈlaː.ver]

Etymology 1

Noun

laver f (genitive laveris); third declension

1. a water-plant; possibly water parsnip (Sium latifolium)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	laver	laverēs
genitive	laveris	laverum
dative	laverī	laveribus
accusative	laverem	laverēs
ablative	lavere	laveribus
vocative	laver	laverēs

Descendants

• → Proto-West Germanic: *laberu (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

Verb

laver

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of lavō

References

• “laver”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “laver”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English læfer.

Alternative forms

• lavre, lafere, lever

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaːvər/

Noun

laver (plural lavers)

1. A kind of water plant.

Descendants

• English: laver
• Yola: levers (plural)

References

• “lāver, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

laver

1. alternative form of lavour

Norman

Alternative forms

• lavaïr (Guernsey)

Etymology

From Old French laver, from Latin lavō, lavāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

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Verb

laver (gerund lav'thie)

1. (Jersey) to wash

Derived terms

• lavage (“washing”)
• lavement (“enema”)
• laver les vaissieaux (“to wash up, do the dishes”)
• laveux (“dishcloth”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

laver m or n

1. indefinite plural of lav

Old French

Etymology

From Latin lavāre.

Verb

laver

1. (transitive) to wash
2. (reflexive, se laver) to get washed

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-v, *-vs, *-vt are modified to f, s, t. This verb has a stressed present stem lev distinct from the unstressed stem lav. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of laver (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		laver			avoir lavé
gerund		en lavant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		lavant
past participle		lavé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	lef	leves	leve	lavons	lavez	levent
	imperfect	lavoie, laveie, lavoe, laveve	lavoies, laveies, lavoes, laveves	lavoit, laveit, lavot, laveve	laviiens, laviens	laviiez, laviez	lavoient, laveient, lavoent, lavevent
	preterite	lavai	lavas	lava	lavames	lavastes	laverent
	future	laverai	laveras	lavera	laverons	laveroiz, lavereiz, laverez	laveront
	conditional	laveroie, lavereie	laveroies, lavereies	laveroit, lavereit	laveriiens, laveriens	laveriiez, laveriez	laveroient, lavereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	lef	les	let	lavons	lavez	levent
	imperfect	lavasse	lavasses	lavast	lavissons, lavissiens	lavissoiz, lavissez, lavissiez	lavassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	leve	—	lavons	lavez	—

Related terms

• lavanderie

Descendants

• French: laver
• Norman: laver (Jersey), lavaïr (Guernsey)

See also

• nettoier