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purify

 - 4 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.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME purifien < MF purifier < L pūrificāre. See pure, -ify


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. 2009.
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pu·ri·fy   (pyŏŏr'ə-fī')   
v.   pu·ri·fied, pu·ri·fy·ing, pu·ri·fies

v.   tr.
  1. To rid of impurities; cleanse.

  2. To rid of foreign or objectionable elements.

  3. To free from sin, guilt, or other defilement.

v.   intr.
To become clean or pure.

[Middle English purifien, from Old French purifier, from Latin pūrificāre : pūrus, clean; see pure + -ficāre, -fy.]
pu·rif'i·ca·to'ry (pyŏŏ-rĭf'ĭ-kə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj., pu'ri·fi'er n.
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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Computing Dictionary

Purify
A debugging tool from Pure Software.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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