Third person singular present tense of deterge; cleanses or washes away impurities.
From Latin detergere (to wipe away), conjugated in present tense.
When a doctor 'deterges a wound' today, they're using precise medical terminology that echoes back to medieval barber-surgeons who practiced the same action with far less understanding of why it worked.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.