Word.ws English Dictionary

laver

Syllables: lav·er/ˈlɑːvə/US/ˈleɪvɚ/

laver noun: a red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable.

Noun (1)

laver (countable and uncountable, plural lavers)

  1. A red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable.
    • 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., →OCLC...
  2. Other seaweeds similar in appearance or use, especially
  3. Porphyra vulgaris

Noun (2)

laver (plural lavers)

  1. Where one laves, a washroom, particularly a lavatorium, the washing area in a monastery.
  2. That which laves, particularly a washbasin.
    • 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, →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    washbasin
  3. The spiritual washing or ablution of baptism.
    • She was afterwards regenerated by the laver of holy baptism, and lived for many years in the service of that knight (as I have frequently heard from him and his family), and was rather loose and wanton in her conduct.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 282

Noun (3)

laver (plural lavers)

  1. One who laves: a washer.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Laver

Laver (plural Lavers)

  1. A surname from Anglo-Norman.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Laver

Laver

  1. A village in Iran, known for its Kerman carpets.

Synonyms of laver

Forms of laver

Noun
plurallavers
Proper noun
pluralLavers
alternative formLavar
alternative formLavehr

Plural of laver: lavers

Origin of laver

From Middle English laver, lavre, lever, levre, laber (“a kind of water plant”), from Old English læfer, leber (“a rush (plant)”), a borrowing from Latin laver (“water plant”).

From Middle English laver, lavour, from Old French laveoir, laveor, laveour, lavor, lavur, from Latin lavātōrium. Doublet of lavatorium and lavatory.

From lave + -er.

Words formed from laver

  • black laver
  • green laver
  • kelp laver
  • laverbread
  • laver slack
  • laver sloke
  • lettuce laver
  • northern pink laver
  • pale patch laver
  • purple laver
  • red laver
  • tough laver
  • winter laver

Phrases with laver

Words that rhyme with laver

Questions about laver

What does laver mean?
Laver means a red alga/seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis (syn. Porphyra laciniata), eaten as a vegetable.
What part of speech is laver?
Laver can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce laver?
Laver is pronounced /ˈlɑːvə/ (UK).
What is the plural of laver?
The plural of laver is lavers.

Words near laver in the dictionary

  1. Laventille
  2. Laventillian
  3. Laventillians
  4. Laventure
  5. Laventures
  6. laver
  7. laver bread
  8. Laverack
  9. Laverack setter
  10. Laverack setters
  11. Laveracks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: laver (page history and authors); Laver (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-laver.wav.

Cite this entry: “laver.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/laver. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.