aquamanile

A1Q10U1A1M3A1N1I1L1E1

noun

A ewer or jug-like vessel, shaped like an animal or human figure, used for washing the hands.

OriginMedieval Latin aquamanile ← Latin aqua →
Scrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounaquamanile (plural aquamaniles or aquamanilia)

plural aquamaniles · plural aquamanilia

  1. historicalA ewer or jug-like vessel, shaped like an animal or human figure, used for washing the hands.

    Among the medieval treasures at Blumka are a lion aquamanile, a vessel used by priests for ceremonial hand washing, with a magnificent tufted tail.

    2007 October 19, Karen Rosenberg, “Sacred Works in Secular Places”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Latinaqua“water”
  2. Medieval Latinaquamanile
  3. Englishaquamanile

Borrowed from Medieval Latin aquamanile, from Latin aqua (“water”), and the root of manus (“hand”).

More words from Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hungarian akvamanile
  • akvamanilewater vessel
Irish acuamainíl
  • acuamainílwater vessel
Polish akwamanila
  • akwamanilawater vessel
Portuguese gomil, agomil
  • gomilwater vessel
  • agomilwater vessel
Cite this entry
APA

aquamanile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aquamanile

MLA

“aquamanile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aquamanile. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aquamanile,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aquamanile.

Source: aquamanile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.