To make pure or clean, especially in a spiritual, emotional, or psychological sense.
From Greek katharos (pure) + -ize (to make or cause to be). This verb form emerged to describe the action of achieving purification.
The root katharos gave us 'cathartic'—which is why doctors used to prescribe medicines that made you go to the bathroom; they literally believed emptying your body would purify it and cure disease!
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