lessive
laundry, washing
noun leh-SEEV Rare
Origin: From Latin lixiva (lye water).
Also means
laundry detergent
Usage Note
Lessive covers both the act of doing laundry (faire la lessive) and the detergent product itself (une lessive en poudre, powder detergent). A related informal expression is être lessivé (to be exhausted, wiped out) — the idea of being wrung out like laundry.
Examples
"Je dois faire la lessive aujourd'hui."
Natural Translation
I need to do the laundry today.
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