Etymology From Middle English purgen, from Old French purgier, from Latin pūrgō (“to make pure, to cleanse”), from pūrus (“clean, pure”) + agō (“to make, to do”).
To clean thoroughly; to rid of impurities; to cleanse; to clear of (something unwanted).
After the process, the machine purges the chamber before venting it to remove toxic gases.
2
To remove by cleansing; to wash away.
3
To free from sin, guilt, or burden.
Purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 79:9:
We'll join our cares to purge away / Our country’s crimes.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 29:
4
Medicine, Sciences To evacuate (the bowels or the stomach); to defecate or vomit.
5
Medicine, Sciences To cause someone to purge; to operate (on somebody) using a cathartic or emetic, or in a similar manner.
"What did they die of?” I asked. / "Fevers. The doctor came and bled them and purged them, but they still died." / "He bled and purged babies?" / "They were two and three. He said it would break the fever. And it did. But they … they died anyway."1979, Octavia Butler, Kindred:
6
To forcibly remove, for example, from political activity.
Deng Xiaoping was purged twice during the Cultural Revolution, but managed to return to power after Mao's death.
7
To forcibly remove people by an organization.
Cromwell had Colonel Pride purge Parliament of royalists who opposed Charles I's execution.
Late triumphs of Russian science are scaring the very dogwater out of large elements in our society, and we both fear more "purging" instead of more effort at catching up.1957 October 20, Roy Bedichek, “to John Henry Faulk”, in Letters of Roy Bedichek, Austin, T.X.: University of Texas Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 507:
8
Law To clear of a charge, suspicion, or imputation.
9
To clarify; to clear the dregs from (liquor).
10
To become pure, as by clarification.
11
To have or produce frequent evacuations from the intestines, as by means of a cathartic.
12
To trim, dress, or prune.
13
Dermatology, Medicine, Sciences Of topical skincare: to force underlying acne to rise to the surface in response to ingredients that increase cell turnover, causing a temporary increase in blemishes.
Etymology From Middle English purgen, from Old French purgier, from Latin pūrgō (“to make pure, to cleanse”), from pūrus (“clean, pure”) + agō (“to make, to do”).
Medicine, Sciences An evacuation of the bowels or the stomach; a defecation or vomiting.
3
Something which or someone who purges; especially, a medicine that evacuates the intestines; a cathartic.
he prescribes a Purge or a Vomit1722, John Arbuthnot, Mr. Maitland’s account of inoculating the small-pox:
4
A forcible removal of people, for example, from political activity.
Stalin liked to ensure that his purges were irreversible.
One of the few surviving Bolsheviks with real power, Mikoyan had been brought to Moscow by Stalin in 1926, had escaped innumerable purges, and had demonstrated an uncanny ability to survive and to associate himself with the right faction at the right time.1971, Lyndon Johnson, “"I feel like I have already been here a year"”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 24:
5
An act or instance of the cleansing of pipes.
6
A red or reddish liquid that seeps out from raw muscular meat consisting mostly of water and protein; "meat juice".
7
The temporarily worsening of acne due to the introduction of skincare products that increase cell turnover, bringing underlying blemishes to the surface more quickly.