Purge Cleans Bodies, Files and Political Parties
To purge is to remove something unwanted. The word moved from medicine to politics without changing its logic.
To purge is to rid something of what is unwanted or impure. Latin *purgare* means to cleanse, from *purus*, pure, plus *agere*, to make. Medicine used it first, for clearing the bowels; politics borrowed it in the twentieth century for removing members from a party, and the metaphor did the work of justifying it — a purge presents removal as hygiene. *Purgatory* is the same word: a place of cleansing rather than punishment.
- To remove the unwanted. *Purge the records.*
- A political removal. *A party purge.*
- A medical clearing. *A purgative.*
- Purgatory — a place of cleansing. *Purgatory.*
- Latin — *purgare*, to cleanse. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | purge | Purge it. |
| Past | purged | Purged. |
| Noun | purge | A purge. |
| Adjective | purgative | A purgative. |
| Noun | purgatory | Purgatory. |
- They purged the old files.Removal.
- A purge followed the leadership change.Politics.
- Purgatory means a place of cleansing.Religion.
The purus family
- Purge — to make pure by removing
- Pure — free of contamination
- Purify — to make pure
- Purgatory — a state of cleansing
- Expurgate — to remove offensive matter from a text
Old French *purgier*, from Latin *purgare*, to cleanse, from *purus*, pure, plus *agere*, to make or drive.
Why is a political removal called a purge?
The word borrows the language of cleansing, presenting the removal of people as the removal of impurity.
Is purgatory the same word?
Yes. It means a place of cleansing, from the same Latin purgare.