/leuh vay"boh, -vah"-/ , n. , pl. lavaboes .
1. Eccles.
a. the ritual washing of the celebrant's hands after the offertory in the Mass, accompanied in the Roman rite by the recitation of Psalm 26:6-12.
b. the passage recited.
c. the small towel or the basin used.
2. (in many medieval monasteries) a large stone basin equipped with a number of small orifices through which water flowed, used for the performance of ablutions.
3. a washbowl with a spigot-equipped water tank above, both mounted on a wall: now often used for decoration or as a planter.
[ 1855-60; lavabo: I shall wash ]