lave
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /leɪv/
Audio (UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪv
Etymology 1
From Middle English laven (“to wash; pour out; stream; bail or draw water, drain, exhaust”), from Old English lafian, ġelafian (“to pour; refresh”), from Proto-West Germanic *labōn (“to refresh; revive; strengthen”), of uncertain origin. Influenced by Old French laver and Latin lavō (“to wash, bathe”)[1]. Sometimes compared to Ancient Greek λωφάω (lōpháō, “to recover, rest”), also of unknown origin.[2]
Verb
lave (third-person singular simple present laves, present participle laving, simple past and past participle laved)
- (transitive, obsolete) To pour or throw out, as water; lade out; bail; bail out.
- a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Last Parting of Hector and Andromache. From the Sixth Book of the Iliad.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003:
- From that fair flood which Ilion's wall did lave
-
- (transitive) To draw, as water; drink in.
- 2006, Cormac McCarthy, The Road, Picador, OCLC 70630525, page 38:
- The boy walked out and squatted and laved up the dark water.
-
- (transitive) To give bountifully; lavish.
- (intransitive) To run down or gutter, as a candle.
- (intransitive, dialectal) To hang or flap down.
- (transitive, intransitive, literary or poetic) To wash.
- 1713, Alexander Pope, “Windsor-Forest. […]”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, OCLC 43265629:
- In her chaste current oft the goddess laves.
- 1789, William Lisle Bowles, 'Sonnet I' from Fourteen Sonnets, 1789.
- the tranquil tide, / That laves the pebbled shore.
- 1727, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, OCLC 642619686:
- Delicious is your shelter to the soul,
As to the hunted hart the sallying spring,
Or stream full-flowing, that his swelling sides
Laves, as he floats along the herbaged brink
-
- To lick.
- 2011 July 15, Miranda Lee, The Boss's Baby, Harlequin, →ISBN:
- […] he drawled, and bent to lave each nipple with his tongue till the satin was wet and clinging.
- 2011 August 1, Eliza Knight, A Lady's Charade, Eliza Knight, →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.
- 2014 February 21, Scarlet Blackwell, Beached Hearts, Totally Entwined Group (USA+CAD), →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?
- 2014 May 1, Leslie Kelly; Jo Leigh; Karen Foley; Susanna Carr, Harlequin Blaze May 2014 Bundle: An Anthology, Harlequin, →ISBN:
- He continued to lave her with gentle laps, while his fingers caressed her until she cried out and her whole body convulsed. He felt her muscles contracting around his fingers, but he didn't stop until he'd wrung every last shiver from [her].
- 2015 June 11, Melissa Foster, Healed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens), World Literary Press:
- 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, The Prince's Forbidden Lover, Elizabeth Lennox Books LLC, →ISBN:
- […] but it 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.
-
Related terms
- lather
- launder
- laundry
- lavender
- lavish
- lavy
- lye
Etymology 2
Inherited from Northern Middle English lave (“remainder, rest, that which is left”), from Old English lāf (“lave, remainder, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibu, from Proto-Germanic *laibō (“remainder”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”).
Cognate with Old High German leiba (“lave”), Old Norse leif (“lave”), Old English belīfan (“to remain”). More at belive.
Alternative forms
- lafe, laif, law (Scotland)
Noun
lave (uncountable)
- (archaic or dialectal) The remainder, rest; that which is left, remnant; others.
- 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XII, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 114:
- Then they set upon us and slew some of my slaves and put the lave to flight[.]
- 1896 (posthumously), Robert Louis Stevenson, Songs of Travel and other verses.[3]
- Give to me the life I love, / Let the lave go by me...
-
- (dialectal) A crowd
- 1807, Ancient historic ballads - Page 72:
- Of prelates proud, a populous lave, And abbots boldly there were known.
- 1807, Ancient historic ballads - Page 72:
Synonyms
- (that which is left): remnant, residue; See also Thesaurus:remainder
References
- Friedrich Kluge (1989), “laben”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 423: “wg. *lab-ō- swV. ‘erfrischen, waschen’”
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “885”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page λωφάω
Anagrams
- Leva, Vale, Veal, Vela, avel, eval, leva, vale, veal, vela
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlaːvə/, [ˈlɛːʋə], [ˈlɛːʊ]
- Rhymes: -aːvə
Etymology 1
From Old Norse laga, derived from lag (“layer”). Cognate with Norwegian lage, Swedish laga.
Verb
lave (imperative lav, infinitive at lave, present tense laver, past tense lavede, perfect tense har lavet)
- to make, create, construct, produce
- to cook, prepare
- to do
- to repair, mend, fix
Inflection
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
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Adjective
lave
- definite of lav
- plural of lav
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
lave c
- (obsolete) dative singular indefinite of lag
Usage notes
Only used in the fixed expression af lave (“out of order”).
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lav/
Audio (file)
Noun
lave f (plural laves)
- (usually uncountable) lava
Derived terms
- fontaine de lave
Verb
lave
- inflection of laver:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “lave”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- leva
Haitian Creole
Etymology
From French laver (“wash”).
Verb
lave
- to wash
Italian
Noun
lave f
- plural of lava
Anagrams
- leva, vale, vela
Middle English
Noun
lave
- (Northern) Alternative form of love (“remainder”)
Verb
lave
- Alternative form of laven
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
lave
- definite singular of lav
- plural of lav
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈla.vi/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈla.ve/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈla.v(ɨ)/
- Hyphenation: la‧ve
- Rhymes: -avi, -avɨ
Verb
lave
- inflection of lavar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlave]
Noun
lave f
- inflection of lavă:
- indefinite plural
- indefinite genitive/dative singular
Scots
Etymology
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
lave
- (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
- 1789, Robert Burns, Whistle O'er The Lave O't:
- Now we're married - speir nae mair, / But whistle o'er the lave o't!
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Spanish
Verb
lave
- inflection of lavar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative
Swedish
![](Images/wiktionary/Laven_i_Intr%C3%A5nget.jpg.webp)
![](Images/wiktionary/Sauna_in_pancevo.jpg.webp)
Etymology
From Old Swedish lavi, possibly from the root of loge (“kind of barn”).
Noun
lave c
- a towerlike building atop a mine shaft
- a wooden bench in a sauna
Declension
Declension of lave | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | lave | laven | lavar | lavarna |
Genitive | laves | lavens | lavars | lavarnas |
Related terms
- bastulave
- gruvlave
See also
- lav
Anagrams
- elva, leva, vale, vela