Clean (?), a. [Compar. Cleaner (); superl. Cleanest.] [OE. clene, AS. clne; akin to OHG. chleini pure, neat, graceful, small, G. klein small, and perh. to W. glan clean, pure, bright; all perh. from a primitive, meaning bright, shining. Cf. Glair.]

1.

Free from dirt or filth; as, clean clothes.

2.

Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects; as, clean land; clean timber.

3.

Free from awkwardness; not bungling; adroit; dexterous; as, aclean trick; a clean leap over a fence.

4.

Free from errors and vulgarisms; as, a clean style.

5.

Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.

When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of corners of thy field. Le.xxiii. 22

6.

Free from moral defilement; sinless; pure.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Ps. li. 10

That I am whole, and clean, and meet for Heaven Tennyson.

7. Script.

Free from ceremonial defilement.

8.

Free from that which is corrupting to the morals; pure in tone; healthy.

"Lothair is clean."

F. Harrison.

9.

Well-proportioned; shapely; as, clean limbs.

A clean bill of health, a certificate from the proper authrity that a ship is free from infection. -- Clean breach. See under Breach, n., 4. -- To make a clean breast. See under Breast.

 

© Webster 1913.


Clean, adv.

1.

Without limitation or remainder; quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely.

"Domestic broils clean overblown."

Shak.

"Clean contrary."

Milton.

All the people were passed clean over Jordan. Josh. iii. 17.

2.

Without miscarriage; not bunglingly; dexterously.

[Obs.] "Pope came off clean with Homer."

Henley.

 

© Webster 1913.


Clean (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cleaned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaning.] [See Clean, a., and cf. Cleanse.]

To render clean; to free from whatever is foul, offensive, or extraneous; to purify; to cleanse.

To clean out, to exhaust; to empty; to get away from (one) all his money. [Colloq.]

De Quincey.

 

© Webster 1913.