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 exorcised
Contemporary Examples
Though it was exorcised and is now caged, it apparently still moves about and growls at visitors.
CEOs may not get too exorcised about a falling stock price or declining market share.
But it seemed to have exorcised many of the demons haunting the lithe and fair actress.
Historical Examples
They sent out of the city for a famous exorcist, who exorcised the spirit for a week.
The Phantom WorldAugustin Calmet
They were like haunting shapes; they could not be exorcised.
Under Western EyesJoseph Conrad
Let him be once exorcised and the ills of humanity are gone.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social JusticeStephen Leacock
The ever-present fear that had haunted her had been exorcised.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
The words are repeated year after year, but the enemies refuse to be exorcised.
Short Studies on Great SubjectsJames Anthony Froude
Word Origin and History for exorcised
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