Foreign substances that contaminate or make something less pure, clean, or perfect. Can refer to physical contaminants or moral/ethical corruptions.
From Latin 'impuritas', combining 'im-' (not) + 'purus' (pure) + '-ity' suffix. The concept evolved from physical cleanliness to moral and spiritual purity in various contexts.
The dual meaning of impurities - both physical and moral - reveals how deeply concepts of cleanliness and virtue are intertwined in human thinking, with the same word describing both contaminated water and corrupted character.
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