DETERGE

PRONUNCIATION: (di-TUHRG)

MEANING: verb tr.: To wash, wipe, or cleanse.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin detergere (to wipe away), from de- (away from) + tergere (to wipe). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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DEETERGE - wash with an insecticide

DEBTERGE - launder one's financial obligations

DETERSE - add unnecessary verbiage to a text, like an author who is paid by the word