The Collaborative International Dictionary
Absterge
Absterge \Ab*sterge\, v. t. [L. abstergere, abstersum; ab, abs +
tergere to wipe. Cf. F absterger.]
To make clean by wiping; to wipe away; to cleanse; hence, to
purge. [R.]
--Quincy.
Wiktionary
absterge
vb. (context transitive archaic now rare English) To make clean by wipe; to wipe away; to cleanse; to purge. (First attested in the early 16th century.)(R:SOED5: page=9)