purgative

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   causing the bowels to empty, or more broadly cleansing something of unwanted matter or emotion

   The physician warned that the herb had a strong purgative effect.

2. 2
   noun

   a medicine or substance that causes evacuation of the bowels

   The obsolete remedy acted as a harsh purgative.

From Middle French purgatif and Late Latin purgativus, from Latin purgare, 'to cleanse or purge.' The medical sense concerns bodily evacuation; the same idea of clearing away unwanted material supports figurative uses for emotional or spiritual cleansing.

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