exorcise
or ex·or·cize
[ek-sawr-sahyz, -ser-]
- to seek to expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration or religious or solemn ceremonies: to exorcise a demon.
- to free (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant influences.
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Origin of exorcise
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin exorcizāre < Greek exorkízein, equivalent to ex- ex-3 + (h)orkízein to cause (someone) to swear an oath
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for exorcise
Contemporary Examples
In the God-fearing, heavily Baptist town of West Memphis, devil worshiping became a scourge to exorcise.
Does it merely take a united family leveling threats all at once to exorcise some of the demonic powers of addiction?
He's certainly done a lot to exorcise the whole Reagan era, and this is him at his best.
Historical Examples
The demon replied, "It is not customary to exorcise in that tongue."
The Phantom WorldAugustin Calmet
Some monks of the abbey were requested to come also and exorcise the spirit.
The Phantom WorldAugustin Calmet
There is nothing like beef and beer to exorcise evil spirits.
Victor's TriumphMrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
They exorcise the Sudhiniyas or the drinkers of human blood.
A man riding on the mare entered the Church with a friend, to exorcise the Spirit.
Welsh Folk-LoreElias Owen
Word Origin and History for exorcise
v.
c.1400, "to invoke spirits," from Old French exorciser (14c.), from Late Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein "banish an evil spirit; bind by oath" (see exorcism).
Sense of "calling up evil spirits to drive them out" became dominant 16c. A rare case where -ise trumps -ize on both sides of the Atlantic, perhaps by influence of exercise. Related: Exorcised; exorcising.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper