Having the quality of cleansing or washing away; relating to something that removes dirt or impurities.
From Latin 'abstergent-' (present participle of 'abstergere'), this adjective was used in medieval and Renaissance medical writing to describe substances with cleansing properties.
In old pharmacology texts, physicians would list plants and minerals as 'abstergent' if they believed the substance could cleanse wounds or internal organs—it's a perfect example of how obsolete medical terminology reveals what ancient doctors thought could heal.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.