washing
/ˈwɑʃ.ɪŋ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Clothing, bedlinen or soft furnishings that have been, are currently being, or are to be washed; laundry.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage; British usage; Uncountable
noun
A place where a precious metal found in gravel is separated from lighter material by washing.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A fraudulent transaction in which the same stock is simultaneously bought and sold for the purpose of manipulating the market.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I then took a piece of dry stone, ground it fine in a mortar, and placed the powder in water, the sand particles sunk rapidly to the bottom, while the clay remained suspended, and by several washings and decantings the sand and clay could be approximately separated ;[…]"
- "My mother used to do the washing on a Monday."
- "[…] Hazel telling about how she liked a good woodpile, especially when she used to take in washing to earn a little extra. She needed a goodly pile to fuel her washtubs."
- "The washings have a higher concentration of metal."
- "the gold-washings, or silver-washings"
- "a washing of silver"
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English waschynge /wasshynge /weschynge, from Old English *wæsċing /*weasċing (attested in weasċingweġ), from Proto-West Germanic *waskingu. By surface analysis, wash + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Waaskenge (“washing”), West Frisian wasking (“washing”), Dutch wassing (“washing”), German Waschung (“washing”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: waschynge//wasshynge//weschynge, *wæsċing//*weasċing, *waskingu, waschyng//wasschinge//wasschynge//wassende//wesschinge, *wæsċende//*wasċende, *waskandī
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɑʃ.ɪŋ/
- British English: /ˈwɒʃ.ɪŋ/
Usage
- Countable
- Australian usage
- New Zealand usage
- British usage
- Uncountable