2006-08-11 12:15:14 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I mean the flat ring with the hole in the middle.
2006-08-12 10:39:14 · update #1
Washers are those little perforated disks of metal that usually go around a screw or bolt and are supposed to either help hold things together or prevent wear.
"Washer" in this mechanical sense (as opposed to meaning "one who washes") first appeared in English around 1346. It is presumed, not surprisingly, to come from the verb "to wash," which in turn came from a prehistoric German root, "waskan." That root, in turn, came from an even older word, "wat," which also gave us "water." So it seems that the original sense of "to wash" was, quite logically, "to clean with water."
Unfortunately, no one has ever come up with a convincing explanation of exactly what a metal "washer" has to do with "washing." Personally, I suspect that it may have something to do with a washer used around a bolt attaching two moving parts. The washer's smooth surface would allow free movement back and forth, a motion which might plausibly be compared to the scrubbing movement used in washing something. That's just a wild guess, of course, but it works for me.
2006-08-12 23:12:33 · answer #1 · answered by ♥ lani s 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you speaking of a clothes washer, or a flat metal donut that you use between the item you are securing with a nut and bolt, and the nut?
2006-08-11 20:04:28 · answer #2 · answered by Gary L 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Long before there were washing machines, there were washer women. Does that help?
2006-08-11 19:21:09 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
cuz it washes clothes
2006-08-11 19:20:18 · answer #4 · answered by jasmine69 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
would you rather wasHER or wasHIM????
2006-08-11 22:31:25 · answer #5 · answered by petasucks101 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋