English▸ noun (usually ablutions) formal or humorous the act of washing oneself (often used for humorously formal effect):
the women performed their ablutions.
▪ a ceremonial act of washing parts of the body or sacred containers.
– ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin ablutio(n-), from abluere, from ab- ‘away’ + luere ‘wash’. The original use was as a term in chemistry and alchemy meaning ‘purification by using liquids’, hence ‘purification of the body by washing’ (mid 16th century).