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Glite Dictionary
🌿 Edible seaweed 🛁 Ritual wash basin
laver

laver

9.9
A large basin priests used in the ancient temple to wash their hands before rituals
  • noun
  • /ˈleɪvər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : lavabo
  • In the ancient temple, the laver served as an important basin for the priests' purification rituals.

Examples

  • Before the ceremony, the holy laver was filled with water for the necessary ablutions.

  • The priests used the laver to perform ritual washings before entering the temple.

  • The laver or font for cleansing the offerings.

    Blog text (33)

  • There was a two-handled laver and a basin for washing the hands before saying the blessing over the challah.

    Academic text (2010)

Compounds

red laver
8.8

Thin dark red seaweed people eat in East Asian cooking, often as sushi sheets

Surface Forms

laver singular
lavers plural

Morphology

laver = lave (semi-transparent) = lave + er

The form can be understood as something used for washing, but the word is specialized and the base verb 'lave' is relatively uncommon.

Etymology

Laver meaning a large basin comes from the Latin word lavare, which means 'to wash', and is the same root as lavatory; that's why a laver was a basin used for washing in religious rituals.