purgatory · adj — tending to cleanse; expiatory. It carries an Arena rating of 1911, earned across 70 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, purgatory ranks #225 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #255 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #289 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #413 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words.
purgatory is pronounced /ˈpɝɡəˌtɔɹi/.
Why “purgatory” is a great word
PURGATORY — [Noun] In Roman Catholic doctrine, an intermediate state after death where souls destined for heaven undergo purification from the temporal punishment of sin. From Middle English purgatorie, from Old French purgatore, purgatorie, from Latin purgātōrium (“a means of cleansing”), from purgāre (“to cleanse”). First attested in English c. 1200. Unlike hell, which implies eternal damnation, or limbo, which suggests a static absence, purgatory is a transitive agony of hopeful becoming. It is the scouring fire that burns yet does not consume, the antiseptic sting that ensures a wound closes cleanly, and the patient erosion of a rough stone in a ceaseless, gentle stream—a testament to the terrible mercy that nothing impure can bear the final love.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English purgatorie, from Old French purgatore, purgatorie, from Latin purgātōrium (“cleansing”). Cognate to English purge.
adj
- Tending to cleanse; expiatory.e.g.“Last of all, the prodigie of Siracusa was expiat by a purgatory sacrifice, by direction from the soothsaiers to what gods, supplications and sacrifice should be made.” — 1600, Philemon Holland, transl., The Roman Historie Written by T. Livius of Padua, London, Book 41, p. 1103:
name
- An intermediate state after death in which some of those ultimately destined for Heaven must first undergo purification.
noun
- Any situation where suffering is endured, particularly as part of a process of redemption.e.g.“the purgatory of lost love”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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