▪ I. cleansing, vbl. n.
(ˈklɛnzɪŋ)
[f. cleanse v.]
1. The action of the vb. cleanse in its various senses; cleaning, purification, acquittal.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark i. 44 For ðinre clænsunga [c 1160 Hatton Gosp. clænsunge]. c 1200 Winteney Rule St. Benet (1888) 65 On sæternes dæȝ clænsunga do. a 1300 Cursor M. 25889 Þe fire o clensing. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clx. (1495) 708 The clensinge of hempe or of flexe. c 1568 in H. Campbell Love-lett. Mary Q. Scots (1824) App. 47 The counsale haldin for the cleansing of Bothwell. 1611 Bible Mark i. 44. 1673 Temple Observ. United Prov. iii. (R.), The opening and cleansing of the old channel of the Rhine. 1842 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. VI. vi. 55 Almost all religions have their outward cleansings. 1873 Burton Hist. Scot. V. liii. 28 A verdict of acquittal, a ‘cleansing by assize’ as it was termed. |
2. concr. The dirt, dust, or refuse removed in cleaning anything.
| 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 689 Trochili..are greedy of these Worms or clensings of the Crocodiles. 1611 Cotgr., Curailles de maison, the dust, filth, sweepings or cleansing, of houses. 1632 Sherwood s.v. Bean, The shalings, chaffe, or cleansings of Beanes. |
b. The lochia or discharges after childbirth; a rustic name for the afterbirth of cattle.
| 1655 L. Thetford Perfect Horseman 10 By no Means let the Mare eat her cleansing. 1810 Treat. Live Stock in N.W. Linc. Gloss. (E.D.S.) s.v., The after-birth; in the north it is termed the cleansing. 1860 Mayne Exp. Lex., Cleansings, a popular term for the Lochia. 1884 Chester Gloss. (E.D.S.), Clansing or Cleansing, the placenta or after-birth of an animal. |
3. attrib. and Comb.
| 1335 in Riley Lond. Mem. (1868) 194 1 clensingbecche..4d. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 109 Some of it ich had in the clensyng weeke. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Cleansing-vat, a vessel in which the fermentation of beer is concluded; the yeast running out of the bung-hole, and being kept full by supply from a store-vat. |
▸ Compare Serbian and Croatian čišćenje (1942 in this sense in Serbian), probably after a German word (perhaps Reinigung or Säuberung (compare quot. 1936)). The purging of ethnic or religious minority groups from a geographical area, society, etc., esp. by expulsion or killing. Cf. ethnic cleansing n., social cleansing n. at social adj. and n. Additions.
| 1936 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 30 346 In Berlin, for example, there was a cleansing process (Säuberungsaktion), directed against Marxists, Jews, and others who were alleged to be enemies of the state, involving wholesale charges of corruption and inefficiency. 1946 tr. A. Rosenberg in Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression (U.S. Chief Counsel Prosecution of Axis Criminality) V. 557 The Jewish question..must be solved and..all nations of Europe will march behind this cleansing at the end. 1992 Economist 10 Oct. 68/1 A sentiment has developed among the Lebanese that the communal cleansing was wrong and that the displaced people should return home. 1995 Today 27 July 2/4 The Serbs were keen to ensure the Zepa ‘cleansing’ operation was less offensive. |
▪ II. cleansing, ppl. a.
(ˈklɛnzɪŋ)
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
That cleanses: see the vb.; spec. of cosmetics.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26201 Penance thol in clenssing fire. a 1387 Sinon. Barthol. (Anecd. Oxon.) 15 Centum capita, affodillus, clansing gresse. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. lxvi. (1495) 902 Whey..is moost drienge and clensynge. 1671 Milton Samson 1727 With..cleansing herbs wash off the clotted gore. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) Dict. B b, Abstergentia.. cleansing Medicines. 1858 A. A. Procter Poems (title), Cleansing Fires. 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 492 An Elizabeth Arden treatment is based on..Cleansing with Venetian Cleansing Cream. 1938 Eve's Jrnl. Jan., Care of the face: Cleansing cream Skin tonic Skin food. 1965 Harper's Bazaar 89/1 Hand Cream, Foundation Cream, Cleansing Milk. 1969 J. Fraser Clap Hands ii. 22 She took a jar of cleansing cream from the cabinet. |