Exorcises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of removing unwanted spirits or demons typically through religious rites occurs within specific contexts, often involving a ritualistic approach to purification
2. A ceremonial act focused on eliminating malevolent forces or spirits is commonly executed by trained individuals, referencing various traditions and beliefs
3. The act of driving out evil spirits or demons is often performed through religious rituals and varies according to cultural practices

Etymology: "Exorcises" is the third-person singular form of "exorcise", so the story belongs to the verb itself. Its Greek ancestor, "exorkizein", meant "to banish an evil spirit" but also "to bind by oath", and the two senses are closely linked: a person who swore an oath called on a higher power, and the same idea of binding by a solemn formula could be turned toward compelling a spirit to leave. The Greek word is built from "ex", "out of" or "away", and "horkos", "oath", so it literally means something like "to take out by oath". The word passed through Medieval Latin as "exorcizare" and reached English in Middle English as "exorcisen" and "exorzisen". Old French had its own form, "exorciser", which ran alongside the English development. The verb's meaning thus stayed close to its religious setting: a ritual of commanding a spirit out of a person or place, with the oath-binding idea still audible in the root.

Synonyms: evicts, expels, purges, banishes, dismisses