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 ; topurify something bystraining 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")
Support
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Examples
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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
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And further understanding pain will help to elutriate drug abuse and addiction, as well.
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Of course, when you tidy up the MC, you elutriate your very soul.
Blog updates 2008
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I had to look up the elutriate but for some reason knew what salubrious meant.
Blog updates 2008
qms commented on the word elutriate
A consummate broth, experts say,
Is filtered the albumin way.
The soup you create
When you elutriate
Is elegant clear consommé.
October 20, 2016