2. (Med.) To operate on as, or by means of, a cathartic
medicine, or in a similar manner.
3. To clarify; to defecate, as liquors.
4. To clear of sediment, as a boiler, or of air, as a steam
pipe, by driving off or permitting escape.
5. To clear from guilt, or from moral or ceremonial
defilement; as, to purge one of guilt or crime.
When that he hath purged you from sin. --Chaucer.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. --Ps.
li. 7.
6. (Law) To clear from accusation, or the charge of a crime
or misdemeanor, as by oath or in ordeal.
7. To remove in cleansing; to deterge; to wash away; -- often
followed by away.
Purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. --Ps.
lxxix. 9.
We 'll join our cares to purge away Our country's
crimes. --Addison.
{Purging flax} (Bot.), an annual European plant of the genus
{Linum} ({L. catharticum}); dwarf wild flax; -- so called
from its use as a cathartic medicine.