absterge

See also: abstergé

English edit

Etymology edit

From French and Middle French absterger or from Medieval Latin abstergēre, present active infinitive of abstergeō (“wipe off or away”); formed from Latin abs- + tergeō (“to wipe off”).

Pronunciation edit

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əbˈstɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒ/
(US) IPA^(key): /æbˈstɝd͡ʒ/, /əbˈstɝd͡ʒ/
Audio (US) (file)
Hyphenation: ab‧sterge
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ

Verb edit

absterge (third-person singular simple present absterges, present participle absterging, simple past and past participle absterged)

(transitive, archaic, now rare) To make clean by wiping; to wipe away. [First attested in the early 16^th century.]^[1]
Synonyms: cleanse, purge

References edit

^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absterge”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.

Latin edit

Verb edit

abstergē

second-person singular present active imperative of abstergeō

Spanish edit

Verb edit

absterge

inflection of absterger:
1. third-person singular present indicative
2. second-person singular imperative

[SOED-1] Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absterge”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.

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