luto-, lut-, luv-, lu-

A cleansing agent; a detergent: Vanessa uses vinegar as an abluent when she removes the impurities in the sink in the bathroom.

There are usually several different abluents available in supermarkets that are used to clean all kinds of things in one's home.

Descriptive of a cleaning agent: Anthony used an abluent detergent to wash away the dirt on his car after the severe dust storm.

The abluent effects of vinegar are said to be of great value.

A reference to anything that is being washed and cleaned: Susan told her children Mark and Sally to make sure they used soap and water so they would have abluted hands before they come to the table for dinner.

1. A washing or cleansing, such as a religious ceremony of purification, a ceremonial washing, or the ritualistic freeing of a person or people from sin or guilt: The priest performed ceremonies of ablutions for his followers.

In some religions, an ablution may be a prescribed washing of part or all of the body or of possessions, such as clothing or ceremonial objects with the intent of purification or dedication.

2. The liquid used in showering which may refer to the practice of removing sins, diseases, or earthly defilements through the use of ritual deputation or to become purified or cleansed: Before saying his prayers, Gregory used an ablution that represented the spiritual cleansing of his sins.

Like most ritual acts, ablutions may carry a wide range of meanings for those who perform it, for example the act of cleansing may be only a gesture that is symbolic of a desired purity of the soul.

3. A scrubbing of a person's body or body parts; a bathing, a cleaning: Because of the heat, Charlene felt the need for a refreshing ablution.

After consecutive ablutions at the sink, Pearl was finally able to wash the smell of garlic off her hands.

Gertrude's husband performed an ablution of his feet every night before going to bed.

4. Etymology: from Latin abluere, "to wash off"; ab-, "away" + luere, "to wash".
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1. Pertaining to the bathing of the body, or parts of it: Such muggy weather required more ablutionary showers than usual.
2. A reference to a religious purification of the body by washing, especially a ritual washing of the hands, etc.: Robert completed his ablutionary ceremonies of soaping up, rinsing, and the drying of his hands each morning before going to prayer in the chapel.

1. An obsessional preoccupation with cleanliness, washing, or bathing, often accompanied by compulsive rituals: The doctor noticed that James had several ablutomanias which included an excessive scrubbing of his hands as well as cleansing his feet in a ritualistic manner several times each day.
2. A mental illness in which patients are driven to repeat the same act, such as washing their hands, over and over again, usually for many hours: Some compulsive disorders, as indicated in ablutomanias, are often considered to be "obsessive-compulsive psychoneuroses".

Some ablutomanias are enormously time-consuming. A woman named Beth felt compelled to wash her hands in a certain way after touching "unclean" objects, namely from fingers to wrist, from wrist to elbow, and from elbow to upper arm, and then to repeat the performance several times until her anxiety was over. As a result, Beth's hands often became painfully raw.

Arthur had ablutomanias that involved washing in a certain ritualistic order whenever he had a bath or cleaned objects. He said, "When I wash clothes or clean anything—floor, carpet, windows, and so on—I have to clean them in a specific way to make sure I do not miss anything. I can never hurry because I would not feel that it has been done properly."

Someone who suffers from an obsessive dread or hatred of showering or bathing: After Dr. Delores Joy had studied several ablutophobes and their constant refusals to wash, she wrote for a scientific journal describing their mental illnesses.

1. An obsessional fear of bathing: Activities based on ablutophobia may include avoidance of washing for long periods of time, an abnormal anxiety when even considering showering or when people are actually trying to clean themselves with water, and even their excessive dread when they see others who are washing.
2. A dread of water or of being seen in the nude: Some people who have ablutophobias are overly anxious that their bodies will be criticized or compared with those of others, while some simply have an abnormal fear of being in warm or cold water.

The ablutophobias which Susan's sister suffered from, included being terribly afraid of going near swimming pools.

Descriptive of a person who has a persistent or abnormal anxiety of bathing or washing: The ablutophobic woman struggled and yelled at the hospital staff when they wanted her to shower before the operation.

David's roommate at the university was ablutophobic which made living in the same room with him too difficult, so David made arrangements to move in with a non-ablutophobic student.

The department of psychiatry at t the hospital started a group program for ablutophobic individuals in hopes of generating a better solution for their psychological conditions.

Sexual excitement derived from secretly watching a person or people cleansing themselves in the nude: Ablutoskepsis is a kind of behavior in which someone gets "turned on" by watching other people taking baths or showers.

A substance, or things, that are washed away: The flood resulted in many abluvions being destroyed and floating down the river.

The recent abluvion that was swept away by the flood included a picnic table.

All of the abluvions which had collected under the bridge were cleared away by the underwater divers.

1. Relating to or consisting of any material that has been carried or deposited by running water: The result of the soil being washed away by water may result in an alluvial valley or an alluvial deposit, all of which consist of earth and sand that has been left by rivers, floods, etc.

The most alluvial deposits that have ever been recorded in Fred's community took place recently during the severe flooding.

2. Etymology: borrowed from Medieval Latin alluvium, alluvius, "washed against", from Latin alluere, "to wash against"; from al-, a form of ad- before l, "to, against", + -luere, a combining form of lavere, "to wash".

An underground water supply which comes from porous rock, sand, gravel, etc.: The alluvial aquifer provided the community with ground water that made it possible for their wells and springs to continue functioning.

A sedimentary deposit (fragments of material) built up by an overloaded stream that is obstructing the stream channel: The alluvial dam of soil composed of sand, silt, and clay were blocking the flow of water.

The accumulation of sediment (mud, sand, etc.) deposited by fresh running water into a channel: The alluvial deposits are controlled by channels, vegetation covers, channel densities, sources of geology, climates, and dirt surface deformations.