PURE


Meaning of PURE in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈpyu̇r ]

adjective

( 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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.