Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To purify, separate, or remove (ore, for example) by washing, decanting, and settling.
  • transitive verb To wash away the lighter or finer particles of (soil, for example).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To purify by washing and straining or decanting; purify in general.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To wash or strain out so as to purify; ; to strain off or decant, as a powder which is separated from heavier particles by being drawn off with water; to cleanse, as by washing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to decant; to purify something by straining it
  • verb to separate large and small particles through an upwardly flowing current of liquid or gas

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin elutriāre, elutriāt- (from *elutrium, vat, bath, from Greek *elutrion, diminutive of elutron, cover, sheath, tank; see elytron) or ēlūtriāre (from *ēlūtor, one who washes, from ēluere, to wash out; see elute).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin elutriare ("wash out"), from e- + lutriare ("wash")

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Examples

  • USGS/Jim Vallance This photo of the July 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens shows an elutriate cloud from pyroclastic flow rising through cloud layer.

    Nature Unleashed 2008

  • And further understanding pain will help to elutriate drug abuse and addiction, as well.

    CNN Transcript Mar 16, 2005 2005

  • Of course, when you tidy up the MC, you elutriate your very soul.

    Blog updates 2008

  • I had to look up the elutriate but for some reason knew what salubrious meant.

    Blog updates 2008

Comments

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  • A consummate broth, experts say,
    Is filtered the albumin way.
    The soup you create
    When you elutriate
    Is elegant clear consommé.

    October 20, 2016