| ablution | 1. The act of washing or cleansing; specifically, the washing of the body, or some part of it, as a religious rite. 2. The water used in cleansing. "Cast the ablutions in the main." 3. A small quantity of wine and water, which is used to wash the priest's thumb and index finger after the communion, and which then, as perhaps containing portions of the consecrated elements, is drunk by the priest. Origin: L. Ablutio, fr. Abluere: cf. F. Ablution. See Abluent. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| ablutomania | <psychiatry> Rarely used term for a morbid preoccupation with thoughts about cleanliness, exhibited by frequent washing, as seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Origin: L. Ablutio, washing, + G. Mania, insanity (05 Mar 2000) |