abluer

A rare, literary verb meaning "to wash" or "to cleanse" — from the same Latin root (abluere) as the noun ablution. It appears mainly in older religious or literary texts, essentially never in modern spoken French, where laver covers the same ground.

• Le prêtre ablue ses mains avant le rite. — The priest washes his hands before the rite.
• Le texte ancien décrit comment on abluait les statues sacrées. — The old text describes how the sacred statues were cleansed.
• Elle ablue la plaie avec de l'eau claire. — She cleanses the wound with clear water. (literary)

There's no real trap here beyond knowing that laver, not abluer, is the verb to actually use — abluer is a literary/liturgical relative worth recognizing, not a working part of everyday vocabulary.

Often confused with laver.