Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AB-LU'TION, n. [L. ablutio, from ab and luo or lavo, to wash.]

1. In a general sense, the act of washing; a cleansing or purification by water.
2. Appropriately, the washing of the body as a preparation for religious duties, enjoined by Moses and still practiced in many countries.
3. In chimistry, the purification of bodies by the affusion of a proper liquor, as water to dissolve salts. – Quincy.
4. In medicine, the washing of the body externally, as by baths; or internally, by diluting fluids.
5. Pope has used ablution for the water used in cleansing.
6. The cup given to the laity without consecration, in Popish churches. – Johnson.