Pure
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /pjÊŠÉ™/, /pjÉ”Ë/
- Rhymes: -ÊŠÉ™(r), -É”Ë(ɹ)
- US IPA: /pjɔɹ/, /pjÊŠÉš/, /pjÉ/
Origin
From Middle English pur, from Old French pur, from Latin purus ("clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain"), from Proto-Indo-European *peu-, *pu- ("to cleanse, purify"). Displaced native Middle English lutter ("pure, clear, sincere") (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere ("pure, sheer, clear") (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir ("clear, pure") (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate ("pure, refined") (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre ("pure")).
Full definition of pure
Adjective
pure
- free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied
- MacaulaySuch was the origin of a friendship as warm and pure as any that ancient or modern history records.
- (free of foreign material or pollutants)free of foreign material or pollutants
- I. WattsA guinea is pure gold if it has in it no alloy.
- free of immoral behavior or qualities; clean
- Bible, 1 Tim. v. 22Keep thyself pure.
- of a branch of science, done for its own sake instead of serving another branch of science.
- (phonetics) Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.
- (of sound) Without harmonics or overtones; not harsh or discordant.
Antonyms
- impure, contaminated
- (done for its own sake) applied