washing

A2 Topic:Clothing & Appearance

US /ˈwɑʃ.ɪŋ/ UK /ˈwɒʃ.ɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4148

Meanings

1

noun
Clothes and other items that need to be, are being, or have been washed.

My mother used to do the washing on a Monday.
2

noun
The act of cleaning something with water, usually with soap.

A good washing got the mud off the boots.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · clothes and other items... laundry wash

2 noun · the act of cleaning... wash

Word family

Derived forms brain-washinghand-washingopen-washingparticipation-washingwashing-sodawashing-up

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

washing line
a cord or wire on which wet clothes are hung to dry

Noun + noun

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English waschyng /wasschinge /wasschynge /wassende /wesschinge, from Old English *wæsċende /*wasċende, from Proto-West Germanic *waskandī, from Proto-Germanic *waskandz (“washing”), present participle of *waskaną (“to wash”). By surface analysis, wash + -ing. Cognate with Dutch wassend, German waschend, Swedish vaskande.

waschyng//wasschinge//wasschynge//wassende//wesschinge Middle English *wæsċende//*wasċende Old English *waskandī Proto-West Germanic *waskandz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Clothing & Appearance

External links

# washing

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɑʃ.ɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɒʃ.ɪŋ/
**Frequency rank:** 4148

## Meanings
1. Clothes and other items that need to be, are being, or have been washed.
2. The act of cleaning something with water, usually with soap.

## Examples
- My mother used to do the washing on a Monday.
- A good washing got the mud off the boots.

## Derived Forms
- brain-washing
- hand-washing
- open-washing
- participation-washing
- washing-soda
- washing-up

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: waschyng//wasschinge//wasschynge//wassende//wesschinge
- Root: *wæsċende//*wasċende
- Root: *waskandī
- Root: *waskandz

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English waschyng /wasschinge /wasschynge /wassende /wesschinge, from Old English *wæsċende /*wasċende, from Proto-West Germanic *waskandī, from Proto-Germanic *waskandz (“washing”), present participle of *waskaną (“to wash”). By surface analysis, wash + -ing. Cognate with Dutch wassend, German waschend, Swedish vaskande.

## AI Etymology
Washing is inherited from Middle English waschyng /wasschinge /wasschynge /wassende /wesschinge, from Old English *wæsċende /*wasċende, from Proto-West Germanic *waskandī, from Proto-Germanic *waskandz (“washing”), present participle of *waskaną (“to wash”). By surface analysis, wash + -ing. Cognate with Dutch wassend, German waschend, Swedish vaskande. In present-day use, it can mean clothes and other items that need to be, are being, or have been washed, or the act of cleaning something with water, usually with soap. Derived formations include brain-washing, hand-washing, open-washing, participation-washing, and washing-soda.

## Topics
- Clothing & Appearance

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