a prefix, occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, meaning âbefore, in front of,â âprior to, in advance of,â âsurpassingâ (predict; preeminent; preface; premaxilla); in English, esp. productive in forming verbs that specify an activity taking place before or instead of the usual occurrence of the same activity (preboard; precook; prepay), or in ...
1: a washing or soaking (as in water) of all or part of the bodyâsee mud bath, sitz bath. 2a: water used for bathingb (1): a medium for regulating the temperature of something placed in or on it (2): a vessel containing this medium.
Meaning: Hang on to valuable things when getting rid of unnecessary things. Hisory: During the 1500s, most people bathed once a year. Even when they did bathe, the entire family used the same tubful of water. The man of the house bathed first, followed by other males, then females, and finally the babies.