Where does “purge” come from?
Purge comes from Middle English purgen, from Old French purgier, from Latin purgo meaning to cleanse, derived from Latin ago meaning to drive or do, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- meaning to drive.
purge (English): An act of purging; An evacuation of the bowels or...
Definitions
- An act of purging; An evacuation of the bowels or...
Ancestry of “purge”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | purgen | To cleanse or purify; to remove impurities |
| 2 | Old French | purgier | to purge |
| 3 | Latin | pūrgō | to clean, cleanse, clear, purge, purify |
| 4 | Latin | -igo | Enlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |