purging

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English purgynge; equivalent to purge +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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purging

  1. present participle and gerund of purge

Noun

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purging (countable and uncountable, plural purgings)

  1. The act or an instance of eliminating contamination: a purification, a cleansing, particularly:
    1. (chiefly politics) A removal of undesirable people.
    2. (chiefly chemistry) The cleansing of a device by flushing it with water, steam, or some other liquid or gas.
  2. The removal of waste from the human body, particularly:
    1. (premodern medicine) The removal of excess humors through bloodletting, induced vomiting, etc.
    2. (medicine) The removal of digested waste: defecation; defecation induced by laxatives.
  3. (chiefly medicine) Vomiting; vomiting induced by purgatives.
    • 1849, The Journal of Health and Disease, page 98:
      He had violent pains in his belly, and purgings...
  4. (obsolete and rare) That which is purged: contamination, a contaminant; refuse; sin; etc.
  5. (obsolete and rare) Synonym of purgation: the act or an instance of removing guilt or suspicion of a misdeed.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  • "purging, n." in the Oxford English Dictionary (2007), Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Middle English

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Noun

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purging

  1. Alternative form of purgynge