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abstergent
Mar. 21st, 2025 07:43 amabstergent (ab-STUR-juhnt) - n., a substance used to cleanse, such as detergent or soap. adj., cleansing, detergent.
The root difference between an abstergent and a detergent is whether you are wiping (tergeĊ) away (ab-) or off (de-). Otherwise, they are pretty much synonyms, with this one sounding more erudite or technical because of its rarity. Both words have been around since around 1610, with abstergent being possibly very slightly older and taken directly from Latin, while detergent arrived via French.
---L.
The root difference between an abstergent and a detergent is whether you are wiping (tergeĊ) away (ab-) or off (de-). Otherwise, they are pretty much synonyms, with this one sounding more erudite or technical because of its rarity. Both words have been around since around 1610, with abstergent being possibly very slightly older and taken directly from Latin, while detergent arrived via French.
---L.
