pure English · revision 4079

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=la purus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /pjʊə/, US /pjʊr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|pur]], pure,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|pur|t=pure, simple, absolute, unalloyed; sheer, mere]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la|pūrus|t=clean, clear; unmixed; unadorned; chaste, undefiled]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) conjectured to be from [[ine-pro|*pewh₂-|alt=*peue-|t=to purify, cleanse]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the source also of Latin putus “clear, pure”, Sanskrit punāti “he cleanses”, Middle Irish úr “fresh, new” and Old High German fowen “to sift”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It replaced Old English hlūttor.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[purge]], [[purify]] and [[Puritan]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of gold, “refined, unalloyed”: about 1250, and earlier as a surname (1178) according to Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-13th century in Etymonline, with the surname from the late 12th century;^(Etymonline) Old English had purlamb, a lamb without blemish.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Unmixed, homogeneous” and “total, absolute, mere”, as well as “sexually pure, chaste”, are from about 1300.^(Etymonline) Hoad dates “guiltless, innocent” to the 14th century and “chaste” to the 15th,^(Hoad 1986) and “free from moral corruption” is recorded from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) Of bloodlines it is from the late 15th century,^(Etymonline) and ''purebred'' is American, from 1868.^(Barnhart 1988) In music, “mathematically perfect”, it is by 1872.^(Etymonline) The verb pure, “to make pure”, from about 1340, survives only in tanning.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1178 – as a surname.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – unalloyed.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – unmixed; chaste; mere.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – free from moral corruption.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – of bloodlines.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – ''purebred''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not mixed with anything else: ''pure gold''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Free from dirt, [[pollution]] or harmful substances: ''pure water''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Free of foreign elements.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Complete; utter; nothing but: ''pure luck''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Without moral fault; [[chaste]] or innocent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a science, theoretical rather than applied: ''pure mathematics''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a sound, clear and free of discordant qualities.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[purely]]

+ * [[pureness]]

+ * [[pureblood]]

+ * [[pure democracy]]

+ * [[pure imaginary number]]

+ * [[pure land]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[purification]]

+ * [[purify]]

+ * [[purity]]

+ * [[puritan]]

+ * [[puritanism]]

+ * [[purist]]

+ * [[purism]]

+ * [[purge]]

+ * [[impure]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage groups pure with absolute, sheer, simple and unadulterated as “free of extraneous elements”.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}