pu·ri·fy  (py r ə-f ī′)
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tr.v. pu·ri·fied, pu·ri·fy·ing, pu·ri·fies 1. To rid of impurities: purify water. 2. To rid of foreign or objectionable elements: tried to purify the party of its dissenters. 3. To free from moral or spiritual defilement: rituals to purify the soul.
[Middle English purifien, from Old French purifier, from Latin pūrificāre : pūrus, clean; see PURE + -ficāre, -fy.]
pu·rifi·ca·to′ry (py-rĭfĭ-kə-tôr′ē) adj. puri·fi′er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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