Purge

v. t. [imp. & p. p. PURGED; p. pr. & vb. n. PURGING.] [Fr. purger, Pr., Sp., & Pg. purgar, It. & Lat. purgare, contracted from Lat. purum agere, to make clean.]

1Sense 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.

2Sense 2. To operate on as, or by means of, a cathartic medicine, or in a similar manner.

3Sense 3. To clarify; to defecate, as liquors.

4Sense 4. To clear from guilt or moral defilement; as, to purge one of guilt or crime.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Ps. li. 7.

5Sense 5. (Law.) To clear from accusation or the charge of a crime, as in ordeal.

6Sense 6. 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.

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