To cleanse or wash away, especially in a medical or cleaning context; to remove dirt or impurities.
From Latin 'abstergere' (to wipe away), combining 'ab-' (away) and 'tergere' (to wipe or clean). This learned medical term entered English in the 17th century but remains quite formal and specialized.
Medieval physicians used 'absterge' in medical texts when describing treatments that would cleanse wounds—it's the kind of Latin-derived word doctors loved because it sounded authoritative and scientific, separating medical language from everyday speech.
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