washboard
Meaning
a board with a ridged surface on which clothes were scrubbed as a method of washing them.
a similar surface or structure, such as the ridged abdomen of a well-muscled person.
Structure
Usage
she used an old washboard and a bar of soap to clean the laundry.
the old blues musician played a rhythmic melody on the washboard.
after years of training, he developed a washboard stomach.
Etymology
The word 'washboard' is a transparent compound formed from two Old English roots. 'wash' derives from the Proto-Germanic 'watskan', related to the act of cleansing with water. 'board' originates from Proto-Germanic 'burdam', referring to a plank or flat surface. The compound logically describes a specific type of board used for the manual washing of clothes by scrubbing them against its ridged surface. Over time, the term has been extended metaphorically to describe any similarly corrugated surface, most notably in the phrase 'washboard abs'.
Analysis
wash (from old english 'wæscan', meaning to cleanse with water; functional role: verb root denoting the action). board (from old english 'bord', meaning a flat, rigid piece of material; functional role: noun root denoting the object).