wash 
J?n^d by riln." """"" "*' "" ""''"' °' ™'" ' " "'^P'"" 
, J."/"""^ "' "'" ''""J'nd o' 'he overlying head or rain- 
"™"' ^iiart. your. Geoi, Soc, XLIV. 116. 
Eod wash, (o) A lotion composed of corrosive sublimate 
red sulphid of mercury, and creos<.te, in water. (6) Bates's 
!^,?S?J?i, '""*■;' """^t ^y '"i<""e copper sulphate, 
Armenian hole, and camphor to boiling water, and then 
straining.- Topth-wash, a liquid dentifrice.-Wlllte 
wasll, Ooiilard s lotion ; lead-water.— Yellow waVh a 
otioii prepared by dissolving SO grains of corrosive srib- 
hmate in one pint of lime-water. 
washt ( wosh), a. [< ,caf:h, v. (ef. ivasliy); perhaps 
< warsh for wearish.} Washy: weak; easilv 
losing Its qualities. ' 
Faith, 'tis but a wath scent. 
Marston, What you Will, i. 1. 
Their bodies of so weak and u'ogh a temper. 
Fletcher, Bonduca, iv. 1. 
"Tto 8 uxmA knave ; he will not keep his flesh well 
Fletcher, Rule a Wife, iii. 1. 
washable (wosh'a-bl), a. [< wnnh + -able'] Re- 
.sistmgor enduring washing: noting the fabric 
and also the color. 
Like uwihaMe beaver hate that improve with rain his 
nerves were rendered stouter and more vigorous bv 
showers of teal's. Dickcjis, Oliver Twist, xxxvii. 
wash-back (wosh'bak), «. in (listiUinfi, a cis- 
tern or vat in which the wort is fermented to 
form the wash. E. H. Knight. 
wash-ball (wosh'bal), n. A ball of soap some- 
times combined with cosmetics. 
We furnish'd ourselves with washbalh, the be.st being 
made here, and being a consideralile commodity. 
Ewlyn, Diary, Hay 21, 1645. 
wash-basin (wosh'ba'sn), «. a large basin or 
bowl in which to wash the hands and face. 
wash-basket (wosh'bas'ket). H. A circular 
shallow basket holding about a peek, with a 
bail handle, used in oystering. [Rhode Island.] 
WT|sh-bear (wosh'bSr), ». [= G. trnnchhar.] 
The racoon or washing-bear. See cut under 
racoon. 
wash-beetle (wosh'be'tl), «. a pounder used 
to beat or pound clothes in the process of wash- 
ing. E. H. Knii/ht. 
waih-board (wosh'bonl), ». l. a board or 
wooden frame having a ribbed or corrugated 
surface of sheet-metal, vulcanite, earthenware, 
or wood, used as a scrubber in washing clothing 
by hand.— 2. Xaiit., a broad thin plank some- 
times fixed on the top of the gunwale of a boat 
or other small vessePs side, to prevent the sea 
from breaking over; also, a piece of plank on 
. the sill of a lower deck port, for the same pur- 
pose. Also called icastc-bonrd.— Z. A board 
carried around the walls of a room at the bot- 
tom. Also called mopboard, sKirthig-board. 
"To stand Iiwking ont of the study-window at the r.ain, 
and kicking bis foot against the umth-board in solitude. 
Oeurrje Eliut, .Mill on the Floss, ii. :i. 
wash-boiler (wosh'boi'l^r), «. a vessel of 
sheet-metal in which clothes to be washed are 
boiled. 
wash-bottle (wosh'bot'l), ». l. in chem., a 
flask provided with a stopper and tubes so 
arranged that by blowing with the mouth the 
water or other liquid in the flask may be forced 
out in a small stream for washing chemical 
preparations and utensils.— 2. A bottle partlv 
filled with water or other washing fluid through 
which gases are passed to purify them. 
wash-bowl (wosh'bol), w. 1. A large bowl or 
basin used for washing tlie hands, face, etc. 
Emerson aloue took no part in this "storm in a ivash- 
'"""■ (iuai-terty llev., CXLV. 132. 
2t. A wash-tub. 
Rlucatlon is not form'd upon .Sounds and .Syllables, 
but upfin Circumstances and tonality. So that, if he was 
resolv'd to have shown her thus unpolislid, he should 
Mve made her keep .Sheep, or brought her iiii at the 
Wath-Boul. Jeremy Collier, Short View (ed. ICDs), p. 222. 
wash-brew (wosh'bro), ». The dish ii.siially 
known as flummery or (as in Scotland) sowens. 
[Prov. Kiig.] 
wash-cloth (wosh'klolh), n. A small piece of 
cloth used in washing, as in washing dislies or 
the person. 
wash-day (wosh'dii), n. The day set apart in 
a hdiisehold for clothes- washing. 
wash-dirt (wosh'dert), H. In plarcr and In/- 
rlriiiilic mininij. sand or gravel containing, or 
supposed to contain, gohl enough to pay for 
washing. Also irnxli-.stiijf, irii.ih-nrorcl. 
Washdish (wosh'dish), i(. The dish-washer or 
wagtail. Also moKi/ or jmlli/ wnshilhh. Sec cut 
under iriiiititil. [Local, Eng.] 
wash-dra'Wing (wosh'dra "ing), n. See (tniiriiii/. 
washed ( wosht ), «. l. That has been subjected 
to washing, in any sense.— 2. Of the natuie of 
6831 
a "wash": applied on the exchanges to a mere 
transfer by a broker of the stock or commodity 
which one principal had instructed him to sell to 
another customer who had given instructions to 
purchase a similar quantity of the same stock 
or commodity. [Stock-exchange slang.] 
)f-a»/i«f or flctitions sales are positively forbidden, and 
will e ider the parties concerned liable to suspeiisiin or 
expulsion from the Produce Exchange. 
Xew York Produce Exchmige Report, 1888-9, p. 266. 
3. In £■067., overlaid, as a surface or a ground- 
color, with a wash or light tint or color: as, a 
fo.x's black pelt wnalted with silver. See icash 
»., 10 (d).- Washed brick. See6rfc*2. ' 
washent. An obsolete past participle of wash. 
Chaucer. 
washer (wosh'er),)). [< JtwA -t- -o-l.] l. One 
■who or that which washes: as, a toasher of 
clothes; a iHsh-wanher ; a viool-washcr. — 2. An 
annular piece of leather, rubber, metal, or other 
material placed at a joint in a water-pipe or fau- 
cet to make the joint tight and prevent leakage, 
or over a bolt, or a similar piece upon which a 
nut may be screwed. Washers serve as cushions or 
packing between many parts of machines, rails vehi- 
cle^, and iron structures. When usea in buildings atthe 
ends of tie-rods, they are often of large size and diverse 
shapes, and are called specifically waH-wmhers. Some 
forms are used as locks, to prevent a nut from shaking 
loose, as 111 a railroad fish-plate. Such washers are made 
m the shape of a spring, to allow a certain amount of 
vibration «-ithout disturbing the nut. See lock-mtt, and 
cute under bolt, packing, and plwj-cock. 
3. A similar article forming an oniament, as 
at the socket or pin that holds any adjustable 
utensil: as, the mother-of-pearl iciishers of a 
fan. Compare msc'«f.— 4. lu jxtpcr-maniif., a. 
straining-and-washing machine used in the pro- 
cess of cleaning rags, to bring them to a pulpy 
condition; a beating-engine.— 5. \th plumbing, 
the outlet of a cistern. It includes the pipe, 
the joint or union, and the plug, as for a basin. 
— 6 A washing-machine: as, a clothes-wos/icc, 
■window-ifa,'*/«r, gold-washer.— 7. In coal-min- 
ing (short for coal-washer), any machine for 
washing coal, in the Pennsylvania anthracite region 
the coal Is sometimes washed by jets of water, and sepa- 
rated from the slate, pyrites, and other refuse by jigging 
The number of machines which have been invented iii 
different countries for washing coal is very great, but 
most of them are based on some form or niodiflcation of 
the Jig of the metal-miner. 
8. The wagtail, a bird. Also dish-icasher, peggti 
dish-washer, moll-washer. nioUij or polhj wash- 
dish, wa.thfail, nanni/ washtail, etc. See cut 
under wagtail.— 9. The wash-bear.- Beveled 
washer. See beveled. ^cvcicu 
washer (wosh'er), v. t. [< washer, n.] To fit 
with washers. 
I had worked myself up, as I always do, in the manner 
of heavy men ; growing hot like an ilUiagtiered wheel re- 
volving, though I start with a cool axle. 
Jt. V. lUackimre, Lorna Doone, Ixx. 
Washingtonia 
■wash-house (wosh'hous), n. [ME. *tcaschhous, 
<. AS. wsesc-hm, < wascan, wash, -f hiis, house ; 
as wash -h house^.^ A house, generally fitted 
with boilers, tubs, etc., for washing clothes, 
etc. ; a washing-house. 
washiness (wosh'i-nes), n. The state of being 
washy, watery, or worthless; want of strength 
washing (wosh 'ing), n. [< ME. teasshinqe, 
waschynge, wessinge, waschnnge, < AS. waiscinq 
washing, verbal n. of wascan, wash : see wa,sh 
f.] 1. The act of cleansing with water; ablu- 
tion. Ceremonial washing has been practised in ancient 
and modern times and among various peoples. The princi- 
pal ceremonial washings in the modern Christian church 
are two : waslang of feet, in commemoration of the washing 
of the feet of the disciples by Christ (see ./■oof); and wash- 
ing of the hands, especially in connection with the celebra- 
tion of the eucharist. In the Western Church, as well 
as 111 the Greek and other Oriental churches, the priest 
washes his hands before celebration. In the Western 
Church he also washes his fingers after the offertory and 
at tlie end of the eucharistic office. See abljition, lavabo, 
puriJicatKn, and holy water (under water). 
John wondered why the Messias, the Lamb of God 
pure and without spot, who needed not the abstersions 
of repentance, or the washings of baptism, should de- 
mand It. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed, 1835), I. 95. 
2. Clothes washed, especially those washed at 
onetime; awash.— 3. The result of washing; 
that which is washed from something else, as 
gold dust.- To give one's head for washlngt. to 
submit to insult. *****© , 
So am I, and forty more good fellows, that will not aive 
their heads for the washing, I take it. 
Beau, and FL, Cupid's Revenge, iv. 3. 
He washered the knobs of the doors that had a rattling 
play whenever handled. Sci. Amer., N. S., LV. 160. 
washer-cutter (wosh'^r-kut"6r), «. A rotating 
cuttmg-tool with two adjustable cutters, worked 
by a hand-brace or by a drill, and used for cut- 
ting out annular disks for washers. E. H. 
Knight. 
washer-gage (wosh'tr-gaj), n. A graduated 
tapering rule used for measuring the diameter 
of bolts, nuts, and washers, and of holes, etc., 
to receive them. 
washer-hoop (wosh'^r-hop), n. In a 'water- 
wheel, a gasket placed between the flange and 
the curb. E. H. Knight. 
washerman (wosh'er-man), H. ; pi. washermeti 
(-men). A man who vvashcs clothes, etc. — 
Washermen's itch. Same as dhobies' itch (which see 
under dliobie). ' 
washerwoman (wosh'cr-wum''an), n. ; pi. «,•((«/}- 
crwoiiiin (-wim'^'en). 1. A woman who washes 
clothes for others or for hire.— 2. The dish- 
washer or washdish. a wagtail. See cut under 
wagtail — Washerwomen's Itch or scall, a variety of 
psoriasis occurring on the hands of washerwomen. 
wash-gilding (wosh'gil'ding), n. Gilding by 
means of an amalgam of gold from which the 
mercury is afterward driven off by heat. Also 
called mercurial gilding, and water-gilding, in 
allusion to the semi-liquid character of the 
amalgam. 
wash-gravel (wosh'grav'el), n. Same as wash- 
dirt. 
wash-hand basin (wosh'hand ba"sn), h. .Same 
as wash-bowl. 
wash-hand stand (wosh'hand stand), n. Same 
as wash-stand. 
He . . . locked the door, piled a (('((sAAomZ-sfanrf, chest 
of drawers, and table against it. 
Dickens, Pickwick, xx.'ivi. 
washing-bear(wosh'ing-bar),«. The wash-bear 
or racoon, Procijon lotor: so called from its habit 
of putting its food into water before eating it, as 
if to -wash it. See lotor, and cut under racoon 
washing-crystals (wosh'ing-kris"talz), n. pi. 
See .sodium carbonate, under sodiuvi'. 
washing-drum (wosh'ing-drum), «. In mining, 
same as washing-trommel. 
washing-engine (wosh'ing-en''jin), n. Inpaper- 
viannj., the first of the series of rag-cntting and 
-cleaning machines used to reduce rags to pulp. 
It cleans the rags and cute them to the size known as half- 
stuff, which is passed on to the beating-engine. See raa- 
engine. E. U. Knight. " 
washing-gourd (wosh'ing-gord), ». Same as 
sponge-gourd. 
washing-house (wosh'ing-hous), «. A wash- 
house. 
washing-machine (wosh'ing-ma-shen''), n. An 
apparatus, operated by hand oi- steam-power, 
for washing clothing, fabrics, wool, or other 
material ; a clothes-washer. Washing-machines for 
domestic and laundry use have been made in the form of 
churns, rubbing- orbeating-niacliine8,and tumbling-boxes. 
While a great variety of machines have been introduced, 
all depend essentially upon some mechanical device for 
stirring and beating the clothes in a vessel containing hot 
soapy water. Rubbing the clothes against a ribbed sur- 
face under water appeai-s to be the most common method 
i or bleacheries and mills where large quantities of fabrics 
are to be washed, the material is made up into continuous 
bands, and is drawn tlirough vats over rollers. In some 
machines beaters are used to assist in cleaning the fabrics 
.Sucli machines are of the nature of bucking-machines! 
keirs, wincmg-niachines, and dash-wheels. Washing-ma- 
chines are designed to be used with wringers. One form 
for domestic use is practically a form of wringer, the 
clothes being cleaned by drawing them between rollers 
of corrugated rubber. 
washing-powder (wosh' ing -pou^'d^r), «. A 
powdered preparation (as of soda-ash and 
Scotch soda) used in washing clothes. 
washing-rollers (wosh'ing-r6"lerz), 11. jn. Roll- 
ers for squeezing goods or yarn after scouring. 
They are of cast-iron, turned true and smooth. The re- 
quisite pressure is applied by means of compound levers 
or movable weights. E. H. Knight. 
washing-shield (wosh'ing-sheld), n. In wash- 
ing, a ridged or corrngafed shield for the palm 
of the hand, or a shield at once to protect the 
person and supply a surface on which to rub 
the clothes. E. If. Knight. 
Washington canvasback. Same as redhead, '2. 
Washington cedar. See cedar, 2, and cut un- 
der Sequoift. 
Washingtonia (wosh-ing-to'ni-a), n. [NL. 
(Wendland, 1879), named after George Wash'- 
ington (173L>-99), first President of the United 
States.] A genus of palms, of the tribe Cori/- 
J!!"!f,- .1' '^ characterized by bisexual flowers with 
sllglitly imbricated segments, and a three-lolied ovary 
with elongated flliforra style. The albumen of the seed 
'I ""','°''"'' '""^ that of the related genera Con/pha and 
Sabat, but the embryo, unlike the others, is sii'li-basilar 
There is but one species clearly known, W.filifera, native 
(if soiitlicrn California and the adjacent boi'der, called 
desert-palm, and locally fan-palm and San Diem palm. 
It produces n tall robust cylindrical trunk, enlarged at 
the base, often 10, sometimes 7r,, feet high, crowned by a 
cluster of light green circular plicate leaves with from 4(1 
to fin folds about 4 feet across, cleft nearly to the middle 
into mduplicatc segments fringed with fliie white peiidu- 
