See Also: purify(medicine)
purify(dictionary)
purify(dictionary)

purify (iou)



purify verb. ME.
[Old & mod. French purifier from Latin purificare, from purus PURE adjective: see -FY.]
I. verb trans. Freq. foll. by of, from.
Make morally or spiritually clean; free from guilt or sin; remove faults, errors, or other undesirable elements from. ME.
J. Fowles Each time she read it..she felt elevated and purified, a better young woman. R. Silverberg I've been purified of all the shady bad things I used to doforgiven.
Make ceremonially or ritually clean, formerly spec., after childbirth. Usu. in pass. ME.
J. H. Newman Priests washed and purified the altars.
Make physically pure or clean, remove dirt, blemishes, impurities, etc. from. LME.
G. Naylor His stomach and intestines were purified by..quantities of spring water and camomile tea.
b. Ecclesiastical. Of a celebrant: cleanse (the chalice, paten, etc.) after the Eucharist. M19.
Remove by cleansing or purifying. rare. LME.
Fulfil (a condition) so as to make a legal obligation unconditional or absolute. Long only Scots Law. L16.
II. verb intrans.
Become pure. M17.