Meaning

noun a defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score

noun wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces

noun a specious or deceptive clearing that attempts to gloss over failings and defects

originThe noun is derived from white (adjective) + wash (noun). Noun sense 5.1 (“medicinal preparation for treating skin diseases”) is a calque of New Latin lōtiō alba (literally “white wash”). The verb is derived partly from white (adjective) + wash (verb), and partly from the noun.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0