purificare

Purificare is an Italian verb meaning to purify, cleanse, or rid of impurities. It is used transitively to indicate removing contaminants from a substance or to cleanse something, and can also be employed in a figurative sense to denote moral or spiritual purification. The related noun is purificazione, the adjective purificante, and the past participle purificato. The verb belongs to the first conjugation of Italian verbs, ending in -are.

Etymology: Purificare derives from Latin purificare, itself built from purus “pure” and facere “to make.” It is cognate with Spanish purificar, French purifier, and Portuguese purificar.

Usage: In science and everyday language, purificare appears in phrases such as purificare l'acqua potabile (to purify drinking water), purificare l'aria (to purify the air), or purificare sostanze chimiche. In medicine and industry, purification steps are described with purificazione, and devices or processes that remove contaminants may be called purificatori or purificatori. The verb is regularly conjugated: present indicative, io purifico; tu purifichi; lui purifica; noi purifichiamo; voi purificate; loro purificano.

See also: Purificazione; Purificatore; Purificazione religiosa.