Main Entry: pure

Pronunciation: \ˈpyu̇r\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): pur·er; pur·est

Etymology: Middle English pur, from Anglo-French, from Latin purus; akin to Old High German fowen to sift, Sanskrit punāti he cleanses, Middle Irish úr fresh, new

Date: 14th century

1 a (1) : unmixed with any other matter <pure gold> (2) : free from dust, dirt, or taint <pure springwater> (3) : spotless, stainless b : free from harshness or roughness and being in tune —used of a musical tone c of a vowel : characterized by no appreciable alteration of articulation during utterance
2 a : being thus and no other : sheer, unmitigated <pure folly> b (1) : abstract, theoretical <pure research> (2) : a priori <pure mechanics> c : not directed toward exposition of reality or solution of practical problems <pure literature> d : being nonobjective and to be appraised on formal and technical qualities only <pure form>
3 a (1) : free from what vitiates, weakens, or pollutes (2) : containing nothing that does not properly belong b : free from moral fault or guilt c : marked by chastity : continent d (1) : of pure blood and unmixed ancestry (2) : homozygous in and breeding true for one or more characters e : ritually clean
4 : having exactly the talents or skills needed for a particular role <a pure shooter in basketball>

synonyms see chaste

— pure·ness noun