Definition of "laver"

laver¹

/ˈlɑːvə/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural lavers
1. A red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable.
  Quotations
  To roast a leg, haunch, or saddle of mutton. […] A modern refinement is to put laver in the dripping-pan, which, in basting, imparts a high gout; or a large saddle may be served over a pound and a half of laver, stewed in brown sauce with catsup and seasonings.
  1847, Margaret Dods [pseudonym; Christian Isobel Johnstone], “Roasting”, in The Cook and Housewife’s Manual. […], 8th edition, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd; London; Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., paragraph 19, pages 106–107
2. Other seaweeds similar in appearance or use, especially:
  1. Porphyra vulgaris

laver²

/ˈleɪvə/

noun
plural lavers
1. One who laves: a washer.
2. Where one laves, a washroom, particularly a lavatorium, the washing area in a monastery.
3. That which laves, particularly a washbasin.
  Quotations
  Infinit streames continually did well / Out of this fountaine, sweet and faire to see, / The which into an ample lauer fell […]
  1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie