18 Delightful English Words You Never Learned in School
The author of
Wordbirds went on a word safari through Samuel Johnson's famous 18th-century dictionary to hunt for entries that can help explain those things in life that otherwise leave us speechless.
By Liesl Schillinger
absterge (v.)
To cleanse, to purify. Once a year (twice if you're ultraconscientious), you might want not just to clean your house, but to absterge it, to give your surroundings a mood-lifting, spanking-clean fresh start.
Published 06/16/2014
