English → Latin
“purge” in Latin
pūrgōto clean, cleanse, clear, purge, purify; to exculpate, justify, vindicate, clear someone's name; to expiate, lustraterepūrgōto cleanse againexpūrgōto purge, cleanse, purify; expurgate; to exculpate, vindicate, justify, excusemundōto clean or cleanseēmundōto clean or cleanse thoroughlylūstrōto purify by means of a propitiatory sacrifice; to circle, move in a circle around. (because the priest offering such sacieōto set in motion; act; to move, stir, shake; to summon, callsoleōto be accustomed, used to, in the habit of
The English word purge itself goes back to Latin agō, through pūrgō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
purge
purgare, repurgare, expurgare, purum facere (general term: ☞ avoid purificare): mundum facere, mundare, emundare (to cleanse from dirt; the two latter words are post-Augustan): lustrare (by a purifying sacrifice). To purge the body, purgatione alvum sollicitare. (1) Of the medicine, alvum movere, ciere, solvere, ducere, subducere; (2) of the physician [Vid: “administer a PURGATIVE”]. To be purged, alvum dejicere, or dejicere only (Cels., 2, 12, 2, seems to show that ducere is by an injection).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for purge?
- The usual Latin words for “purge” are pūrgō, repūrgō, expūrgō; also mundō, ēmundō, lūstrō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.