exorcising

Variant of exorcise

or exorcize

transitive verb exorcised or exorcized, exorcising or exorcizing

  1. to drive (an evil spirit or spirits) out or away by ritual prayers, incantations, etc.
  2. Rare to adjure (such a spirit or spirits)
  3. to free from such a spirit or spirits

Origin: ME exorcisen < LL(Ec) exorcizare < Gr exorkizein, to swear a person (in N.T., to banish an evil spirit) < ex-, out + horkizein, to make one swear < horkos, an oath, akin to horkanē, enclosure, herkos, fence, prob. < IE base *ser-, wickerwork > L sarcire, to patch

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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