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Webster 1913 Edition

Clean

Clean

(klēn)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Cleaner
(klēn′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Cleanest
.]
[OE.
clene
, AS.
clǣne
; 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, a
clean
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.
Lev. 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 authority that a ship is free from infection.
–
Clean breach
.
See under
Breach
,
Noun.
, 4.
–
To make a clean breast
.
See under
Breast
.
“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.

Clean

(klēn)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cleaned
(klēnd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Cleaning
.]
[See
Clean
,
Adj.
, 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 1828 Edition

Clean

CLEAN

,
Adj.
In a general sense, free from extraneous matter, or whatever is injurious or offensive; hence its signification depends on the nature and qualities of the substances to which it is applied.
1.
Free from dirt, or other foul matter; as clean water; a clean cup; a clean floor.
2.
Free from weeds or stones; as clean land; a clean garden or field.
3.
Free from knots or branches; as clean timber. In America, clear is generally used.
4.
Free from moral impurity; innocent.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Job 14. Acts 18.
5.
Free from ceremonial defilement. Lev. 10; Numb. 19.
6.
Free from guilt; sanctified; holy. John 13. Ps 51.
7.
That might be eaten by the Hebrews. Gen. 7; Gen. 8.
8.
That might be used. Luke 11.
9.
Free from a foul disease; cured of leprosy. 2 Kings 5. Math. 8.
10.
Dextrous; adroit; not bungling; free from awkwardness; as a clean feat; a clean boxer.
11.
Free from infection; as a clean ship. A clean bill of health is a certificate that a ship is clean, or free from infection.

CLEAN

, adv.
1.
Quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely; fully; indicating separation or complete removal of every part. The people passed clean over Jordan. Josh. 3. Is his mercy clean gone forever? Ps. 77. This use of clean is not now elegant, and not used except in vulgar language.
2.
Without miscarriage; dextrously.
Pope came off clean with Homer.

CLEAN

,
Verb.
T.
To remove all foreign matter from; to separate from any thing whatever is extraneous to it, or whatever is foul, noxious, or offensive, as dirt or filth from the hands, body or clothes, foul matter from a vessel, weeds, shrubs and stones from a meadow; to purify. Thus, a house is cleaned by sweeping and washing; a field is cleaned by plowing and hoeing.

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