deterge

D2E1T1E1R1G2E1

verb

To clean (especially a wound) of undesirable material.

OriginFrench déterger ← Latin dētergēre →
Scrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbdeterge (third-person singular simple present deterges, present participle deterging, simple past and past participle deterged)

present singular third person deterges · participle present deterging · participle past deterged · past deterged

  1. transitiveTo clean (especially a wound) of undesirable material.

    Nature to attenuate, open, deterge, and dissolve; and Milk and Water, and Seeds, to cool, nourish, and balmify

    1742, George Cheyne, The Natural Method Of Cureing the Diseases of the Body

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
cleanse

Origin

  1. Latindētergēre
  2. Frenchdéterger
  3. Englishdeterge

From French déterger, from Latin dētergēre, from dē- + tergēre.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish deterger
  • detergerTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

deterge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deterge

MLA

“deterge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deterge. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deterge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deterge.

Source: deterge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.