lave

****************************************************************
Announcing the new Merriam-Webster's Learner's Word
of the Day--perfect for ESL students. It's free!
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/learner_signup.html
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 11 is:

lave   \LAYV\   verb 
     1 a : wash, bathe  *b : to flow along or against
     2 : pour 

Example sentence:
     "There are few traces of man's hand to be seen. The water laves the shore 
as it did a thousand years ago." (Henry David Thoreau, _Walden_)

Did you know?
     "Lave" is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act 
of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in _The Taming of the Shrew_, when 
Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and 
ewers to lave her dainty hands." And in Charles Dickens' _The Old Curiosity 
Shop_, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth 
to walk again." The poetry of "lave" is also heard when describing water 
washing against the shore, as in our example sentence, or even the pouring of 
water: "He... laved a few cool drops upon his brow" (John Lockhart, _Reginald 
Dalton_). Before washing our hands of "lave," we'll tell you its etymology: it, 
as well as "lavatory," comes from Latin "lavare," meaning "to wash."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.