lavabo

L1A1V4A1B3O1
UK/ləˈveɪbəʊ/

noun

A ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist.

Similar
lavatorywashbasinbathroomlatrinenecessariumtoilettoilet roomurinal
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Meanings

nounlavabo (plural lavabos or lavaboes)

plural lavabos · plural lavaboes

  1. ChristianityA ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist.

    Synonyms: lavatory

  2. ChristianityThe small towel used to dry the priest's hands following the ritual.

    These small liturgical towels got […] the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes.

    1870, Daniel Rock, Textile Fabrics, page 203
  3. A washbasin, particularly (Christianity) the one in a church used in the ritual.

    […] the […] pontiff, as he […] moved his hands […] at the Lavabo, or at the various benedictions […]

    1885, Walter Horatio Peter, Marius the Epicurean, Bk. iv, Ch. xxiii

    Synonyms: washbasin

  4. architectureA trough used for washing at some medieval monasteries.
  5. euphemistichumorousA lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.

    Mr. Pond fussed out and she heard the door of the little lavabo in the passage open with a loud creak.

    1930, Dorothy L. Sayers, chapter XIV, in Strong Poision, page 177

    Synonyms: bathroom, latrine, necessarium, toilet, toilet room, urinal, water closet, WC

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist.

Similar
lavatory

nounA washbasin, particularly (Christianity) the one in a church used in the ritual.

Similar
washbasin

nounA lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.

Similar
bathroomlatrinenecessariumtoilettoilet roomurinalwater closetWCcloacaclosetjacqueskocaysiegecludgieneddynettyshieldsixfacilitiesladies and gentlemen

More synonyms by meaning

nouna basin for washing the hands

Similar
washbasinhandbasinwashbowlwash-hand basin
Broader
basin
Also see
bathroomhandbasinwashbasinwashbowl

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From the Christian ritual, which was traditionally accompanied in Catholicism by a recitation of Psalm 25:6 (Psalm 26:6, in the Hebrew and in most modern translations) which in Latin begins with the word lavābō (“I will wash”). The sense of "room with a toilet" developed under the influence of lavatory and lav.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French lavabo
  • lavabochurch washbasin
German Lavabo
  • Lavabochurch washbasin
Greek φιάλη αγιασμού
  • φιάλη αγιασμού (fiáli agiasmoú)church washbasin
Indonesian lavabo
  • lavabochurch washbasin
Italian lavabo
  • lavabochurch washbasin
Russian рукомо́йник
  • рукомо́йник (rukomójnik)church washbasin
Cite this entry
APA

lavabo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavabo

MLA

“lavabo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavabo. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lavabo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavabo.

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