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plural lavabos or lavaboes
(Christianity) A ritual involving the washing of one's hands at a church's offertory before handling the Eucharist. examples
(Christianity) The small towel used to dry the priest's hands following the ritual. quotations examples
These small liturgical towels got […] the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes.
1870, Daniel Rock, Textile Fabrics, page 203
(Christianity) the one in a church used in the ritual. quotations examples
[…] 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
(architecture) A trough used for washing at some medieval monasteries. examples
(humorous, euphemistic) A lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation. quotations examples
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