Purer

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpjʊəɹə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. Having a greater degree of purity or cleanliness than something else
2. Describing something that is clearer or more free from contaminants or impurities
3. Characterizing a state of being more refined, uncontaminated, or free from foreign elements

Etymology: "Purer" is simply the comparative of "pure," so its history is the history of "pure." That word came into Middle English from Old French "pur," which in turn descended from Latin "pūrus," meaning clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, or plain. The Latin term traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to cleanse or purify, so the core idea has been about removing what does not belong from the start. English did not always rely on this borrowing. Before "pure" arrived, speakers used native words such as "lutter," "skere," "schir," and "smete" for the same sense of clearness and freedom from admixture. The French loan displaced them, and only faint traces of those older words survive in modern usage.

Synonyms: cleaner, clearer

Antonyms: impurer, contaminated