compurgation
nounUK /kɒmpɜːˈɡeɪʃən/
Etymology From Latin compurgātiōnem, from compurgāre (“to purify”).
1
Historical Acquitting someone from a formal charge or accusation following the sworn oaths of a number of other people; vindication.
- Between the later middle ages and the early seventeenth century, compurgation appears to have become an increasingly onerous test to pass, perhaps reflecting tightening attitudes to sexual offenders.2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin, published 2013, page 23: