Lustrate
/ˈluː.streɪt/noun
To cleanse or purify, especially by a ceremonial ritual.
Did you know?English lustrate comes from Latin lustrāre, tied to ritual purification and the Roman lustrum, a five-year census ceremony meant to cleanse the community symbolically.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leuk-
“to shine, be bright”
Latin
Latin
lustrāre
“to purify by means of a ritual, to cleanse, to illumine”
Latin
Latin
lustrum
“a purification sacrifice; later, a five-year census period marked by that rite”
Late Latin
Latin
lustrātus
“purified, cleansed by ritual”
16th Century
English
lustrate
“to purify or cleanse ceremonially”
Modern English
English
lustrate
“to cleanse or purify, especially by ritual”
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