compurgation

English

Etymology

From Latin compurgātiōnem, from compurgāre (“to purify”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kɒmpɜːˈɡeɪʃən/, /kɒmpəˈɡeɪʃən/

Noun

compurgation (countable and uncountable, plural compurgations)

1. (now chiefly historical) Acquitting someone from a formal charge or accusation following the sworn oaths of a number of other people; vindication.
   • 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin, published 2013, page 23:

     Between the later middle ages and the early seventeenth century, compurgation appears to have become an increasingly onerous test to pass, perhaps reflecting tightening attitudes to sexual offenders.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pewH- (0 c, 37 e)

Translations

clearing someone following sworn oaths

• Welsh: rhaith