Hypertext Webster Gateway: "purgatory"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, a. [L. purgatorius.]
Tending to cleanse; cleansing; expiatory. --Burke.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Purgatory \Pur"ga*to*ry\, n. [Cf. F. purgatoire.]
A state or place of purification after death; according to
the Roman Catholic creed, a place, or a state believed to
exist after death, in which the souls of persons are purified
by expiating such offenses committed in this life as do not
merit eternal damnation, or in which they fully satisfy the
justice of God for sins that have been forgiven. After this
purgation from the impurities of sin, the souls are believed
to be received into heaven.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
purgatory
n 1: a temporary condition of torment or suffering: "a purgatory
of drug abuse"
2: (theology) a place where Roman Catholics think those who
have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to
expiate their sins
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