Definition of the word washing line

The term "washing line" originally derived from the early methods of washing clothes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, people would brace themselves against a tall tree, fence, or wall while pounding their laundry in a large wooden tub. The clothes were then hung on a separate line strung between two poles, pegs, or trees. The word "line" referred to the string or rope used to strung the clothes, as well as the actual horizontal support for the clothes. This horizontal support line eventually became known as the washing line. As laundry technology advanced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, engineers developed a more convenient washing machine and rotary-style clotheslines. These replaced the sprawling, tree-hung lines with tidier, more efficient devices, such as the pulley-operated T-shaped clothes support, called a "rotary", which enabled optimum relaxation for laundry drying while sparing the lawn and garden soil. Nowadays, technology has enabled the advent of retractable washing lines, two-tiered cloth racks, foldable clothes hoists and wall-mounted drying racks, commonly known as 'washing lines.' In summary, the word "washing line" has evolved and become a generic term used to describe the horizontal line or series of ropes or cables, used to hang clothes to dry. The term's origins have lasted more than three centuries and continue to evolve as advances in laundry technology create more convenient and user-friendly clothes-drying contraptions.