lave

/leɪv/

//leɪv// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lave" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lave” is an uncommon English word, ranked #72,484 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#72,484
frequency rank, English
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To bathe or wash (someone or something).

Key facts for lave
PropertyValue
Headwordlave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/leɪv/
Letters4
Frequency rank#72,484
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lave” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lave lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for lave is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /leɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #72,484 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

lave has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English laven (“to bathe, wash; to bail or draw water, drain, exhaust; to dampen, wet; to pour; of water, etc.: to flow, stream”), and then partly: * from Old French laver (“to be washed; to wash”) (modern French laver (“to w… The correct English form is lave, spelled L-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To bathe or wash (someone or something).
  2. 2
    Of a river or other water body: to flow along or past (a place or thing); to wash.
  3. 3
    Followed by into, on, or upon: to pour (water or some other liquid) with or as if with a ladle into or on someone or something; to lade, to ladle.
  4. 4
    To remove (something), as if by washing away with water.
  5. 5
    To surround or gently touch (someone or something), as if with water.
  6. 6
    Chiefly in sexual contexts: to lick (someone or something).
  7. 7
    Followed by out or up: to draw or scoop (water) out of something with a bucket, scoop, etc.; specifically, to bail (water) out of a boat.
  8. 8
    To bathe or wash.
  9. 9
    To surround as if with water.
  10. 10
    Chiefly in sexual contexts; followed by at: to lick.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English laven (“to bathe, wash; to bail or draw water, drain, exhaust; to dampen, wet; to pour; of water, etc.: to flow, stream”), and then partly: * from Old French laver (“to be washed; to wash”) (modern French laver (“to wash (oneself)”)), from Latin lavāre, the present active infinitive of lavō (“to bathe, wash; to dampen, wet”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”); and * from Old English lafian (“to bathe; to make wet; to ladle out; to pour”), from Proto-West Germanic *labōn (“to refresh, revitalize; to strengthen”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Latin lavō (see above) but this does not explain the change in meaning from “to wash; to wet” to “to refresh; to strengthen”. Perhaps Old English lafian is derived directly from the Latin word, and Proto-West Germanic *labōn and words in languages derived from it such as Dutch and German are coincidentally similar to the Old English word. The noun is derived from the verb.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lave"?
"lave" is spelled L-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /leɪv/.
What does "lave" mean?
As a verb, "lave" means: To bathe or wash (someone or something).
How do you pronounce "lave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lave" is /leɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "lave"?
The verb is derived from Middle English laven (“to bathe, wash; to bail or draw water, drain, exhaust; to dampen, wet; to pour; of water, etc.: to flow, stream”), and then partly: * from Old French laver (“to be washed; to wash”) (modern French la... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lave”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-A-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /leɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list