Adjacent Words

Purge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PURGE, v.t. purj. [L. purgo.]
1. To cleanse or purify by separating and carrying off whatever is impure, heterogeneous,foreign or superfluous; as, to purge the body by evacuation; to purge the Augean stable. It is followed by away, of, or off. We say, to purge away or to purge off filth, and to purge a liquor of its scum.
2. To clear from guilt or moral defilement; as,to purge one of guilt or crime; to purge away sin.
Purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. Psalms 79.
Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Psalms 51.
3. To clear from accusation or the charge of a crime, as in ordeal.
4. To remove what is offensive; to sweep away impurities. Ezek 20.
5. To clarify; to defecate; as liquors.
PURGE, v.i. To become pure by clarification.
1. To have frequent or preternatural evacuations by stool.
PURGE, n. A medicine that evacuates the body by stool; a cathartic.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of clearing yourself (or another) from some stigma or charge [syn: purge, purging, purgation]
2: an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements [syn: purge, purging]
3: an abrupt or sudden removal of a person or group from an organization or place; "he died in a purge by Stalin" v
1: oust politically; "Deng Xiao Ping was purged several times throughout his lifetime" [ant: rehabilitate]
2: clear of a charge
3: make pure or free from sin or guilt; "he left the monastery purified" [syn: purify, purge, sanctify]
4: rid of impurities; "purge the water"; "purge your mind"
5: rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid; "flush the wound with antibiotics"; "purge the old gas tank" [syn: flush, scour, purge]
6: eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; "After drinking too much, the students vomited"; "He purged continuously"; "The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night" [syn: vomit, vomit up, purge, cast, sick, cat, be sick, disgorge, regorge, retch, puke, barf, spew, spue, chuck, upchuck, honk, regurgitate, throw up] [ant: keep down]
7: excrete or evacuate (someone's bowels or body); "The doctor decided that the patient must be purged"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (purged; purging) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French purger, from Latin purigare, purgare to purify, purge, from purus pure + -igare (akin to agere to drive, do) — more at act Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to clear of guilt b. to free from moral or ceremonial defilement 2. a. to cause evacuation from (as the bowels) b. (1) to make free of something unwanted <purge a manhole of gas> <purge yourself of fear> (2) to free (as a boiler) of sediment or relieve (as a steam pipe) of trapped air by bleeding c. (1) to rid (as a nation or party) by a purge (2) to get rid of <the leaders had been purged> intransitive verb 1. to become purged 2. to have or produce frequent evacuations 3. to cause purgation • purger noun II. noun Date: 1563 1. something that purges; especially purgative 2. a. an act or instance of purging b. the removal of elements or members regarded as undesirable and especially as treacherous or disloyal

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 (often foll. by of, from) make physically or spiritually clean. 2 remove by a cleansing process. 3 rid (an organization, party, etc.) of persons regarded as undesirable. 4 a empty (the bowels). b empty the bowels of. 5 Law atone for or wipe out (an offence, esp. contempt of court). --n. 1 the act or an instance of purging. 2 a purgative. Derivatives: purger n. Etymology: ME f. OF purg(i)er f. L purgare purify f. purus pure

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Purge Purge, v. i. 1. To become pure, as by clarification. 2. To have or produce frequent evacuations from the intestines, as by means of a cathartic.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Purge Purge, n. [Cf. F. purge. See Purge, v. t.] 1. The act of purging. The preparative for the purge of paganism of the kingdom of Northumberland. --Fuller. 2. That which purges; especially, a medicine that evacuates the intestines; a cathartic. --Arbuthnot.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Purge Purge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Purged; p. pr. & vb. n. Purging.] [F. purger, L. purgare; purus pure + agere to make, to do. See Pure, and Agent.] 1. To cleanse, clear, or purify by separating and carrying off whatever is impure, heterogeneous, foreign, or superfluous. ``Till fire purge all things new.'' --Milton. 2. (Med.) To operate on as, or by means of, a cathartic medicine, or in a similar manner. 3. To clarify; to defecate, as liquors. 4. To clear of sediment, as a boiler, or of air, as a steam pipe, by driving off or permitting escape. 5. To clear from guilt, or from moral or ceremonial defilement; as, to purge one of guilt or crime. When that he hath purged you from sin. --Chaucer. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. --Ps. li. 7. 6. (Law) To clear from accusation, or the charge of a crime or misdemeanor, as by oath or in ordeal. 7. To remove in cleansing; to deterge; to wash away; -- often followed by away. Purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. --Ps. lxxix. 9. We 'll join our cares to purge away Our country's crimes. --Addison.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(purges, purging, purged) 1. To purge an organization of its unacceptable members means to remove them from it. You can also talk about purging people from an organization. The leadership voted to purge the party of 'hostile and anti-party elements'... He recently purged the armed forces, sending hundreds of officers into retirement... They have purged thousands from the upper levels of the civil service. VERB: V n of n, V n, V n from n • Purge is also a noun. The army have called for a more thorough purge of people associated with the late President... N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. If you purge something of undesirable things, you get rid of them. He closed his eyes and lay still, trying to purge his mind of anxiety... = rid VERB: V n of n, also V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

purj: A number of words in both the Old Testament and the New Testament are so rendered in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), although frequently in the Revised Version (British and American) the older English word "purge" is displaced by the more applicable modern terms "cleanse" and "purify," since the emphatic and medical senses of the word, as we now use it, are not justified by some of the Hebrew and Greek originals. In older English the word was broader in meaning, today it is specific. Occurrences in the King James Version, with the changes made in the Revised Version (British and American), are as follows:

1. In the Old Testament:

(1) Taber, literally, "to be clean," used of the putting-away of idolatry from Judah by Josiah (2Ch 34:3,8), is translated "purge" in all VSS, but, in Eze 24:13, the American Standard Revised Version changes to "cleanse."

(2) chaTa', literally, "to make a sin offering" (Ps 51:7): is changed without improvement to "purify" in the American Standard Revised Version, while "purge" is retained in the English Revised Version.

(3) kaphar, "to cover" or "to make atonement," occurs in Ps 65:3; 79:9; Eze 43:20,26; in the two passages in Psalms, the Revised Version (British and American) has "forgive" (the "expiate" of the margin is still better), and in Ezekiel the even more accurate "make atonement." In both

(4) tsaraph, "to refine" (Isa 1:25), and

(5) duach, literally, "to rinse" (Isa 4:4), "purge" is well retained in the Revised Version (British and American).

(6) barar, literally, "to be shining," the Revised Version (British and American) retains in Eze 20:38, but in Da 11:35 changes to "purify."

(7) zaqaq, "to pour down" as molten metal (Mal 3:3), also becomes "purify" in the Revised Version (British and American).

These occurrences are all in the figurative sense, and apply to sin, uncleanness, idolatry, etc. Most noteworthy is the American Standard Revised Version change of the familiar Ps 51:7.

2. In the New Testament:

The Greek words rendered "purge" in the King James Version of the Apocrypha and New Testament are kathairo, and katharizo, and their compounds and derivatives. In all passages except four, the Revised Version (British and American) more properly translates "cleanse" (Mt 3:12; Mr 7:19; Lu 3:17; Joh 15:2; Heb 9:14,22; 10:2). In Heb 1:3 "when he had by himself purged our sins" is changed to "had made purification of." But in the case of the verb compounded with the preps. apo and ek, i.e. apokathairo and ekkathairo (Job 12:9; 1Co 5:7; 2Ti 2:21), with strong signification to "cleanse out," the Revised Version (British and American) properly retains "purge." Most worthy of note is the change of the familiar verse in John, "Every branch, that beareth fruit, he purgeth" to "Every branch .... he cleanseth" (15:2).

Edward Mack

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Cleanse, clear, purify, free from impurity. 2. Clarify, defecate. 3. Physic, scour. 4. Deterge, wash away. II. n. See purgative.

Moby Thesaurus

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