n. pl. la·va·boes 1. often Lavabo The ceremonial washing of the hands and recitation from the Psalms by the celebrant before the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. 2. A washbowl that is attached to a wall and filled from a water tank fastened above. [From Latin lavābō, I shall wash (opening word of the recited portion of Psalm 26), first person future tense of lavāre, to wash; see leu(ə)- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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