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purification

 - 5 dictionary results

pu⋅ri⋅fy

  [pyoor-uh-fahy] verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates: to purify metals.
2. to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements: to purify a language.
3. to free from guilt or evil.
4. to clear or purge (usually fol. by of or from).
5. to make clean for ceremonial or ritual use.
–verb (used without object)
6. to become pure.
Use purification in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME purifien < MF purifier < L pūrificāre. See pure, -ify

Related forms:
pu⋅ri⋅fi⋅ca⋅tion, noun
pu⋅rif⋅i⋅ca⋅to⋅ry  [pyoo-rif-i-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
pu⋅ri⋅fi⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To purification
pu·ri·fi·ca·tion   (pyŏŏr'ə-fĭ-kā'shən)   
n.  The act or an instance of cleansing or purifying.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

purify 
c.1300, "free from spiritual pollution," from O.Fr. purifier (12c.), from L. purificare "to make pure," from purus "pure" (see pure) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "free from extraneous matter" is recorded from c.1440. Purification first attested c.1380; in ref. to Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, from 1389.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Purification

the process by which a person unclean, according to the Levitical law, and thereby cut off from the sanctuary and the festivals, was restored to the enjoyment of all these privileges. The great annual purification of the people was on the Day of Atonement (q.v.). But in the details of daily life there were special causes of cermonial uncleanness which were severally provided for by ceremonial laws enacted for each separate case. For example, the case of the leper (Lev. 13, 14), and of the house defiled by leprosy (14:49-53; see also Matt. 8:2-4). Uncleanness from touching a dead body (Num. 19:11; Hos. 9:4; Hag. 2:13; Matt. 23:27; Luke 11:44). The case of the high priest and of the Nazarite (Lev. 21:1-4, 10, 11; Num. 6:6, 7; Ezek. 44:25). Purification was effected by bathing and washing the clothes (Lev. 14:8, 9); by washing the hands (Deut. 21:6; Matt. 27:24); washing the hands and feet (Ex. 30:18-21; Heb. 6:2, "baptisms", R.V. marg., "washings;" 9:10); sprinkling with blood and water (Ex. 24:5-8; Heb. 9:19), etc. Allusions to this rite are found in Ps. 26:6; 51:7; Ezek. 36:25; Heb. 10:22.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia

purification

in chemistry, separation of a substance into its components and the removal of impurities. There are a large number of important applications in fields such as medicine and manufacturing.

Learn more about purification with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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