Purity

How to spell purity

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce purity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does purity mean?

1. nounThe state or quality of being clean, unmixed, or free from contamination or moral fault.

Purity in a sentence

• The laboratory tested the water for purity before approving it for drinking.

• The jeweller measured the purity of the gold by its karat rating.

Where does purity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective purus, which meant 'clean', 'unmixed', or 'free from dirt'. From that root Latin built the noun puritas, describing the state of being clean or unadulterated. The word travelled into English through Old French purete during the medieval period, settling into Middle English by around the 1200s. Over time English reshaped the ending toward the more classical Latin form, giving us the modern '-ity' spelling that signals an abstract quality. The same purus root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'pure', 'purify', and 'puree', so remembering that the stem is simply 'pur' makes the spelling feel natural.

How the word is built

• pur- (from Latin purus: clean, unmixed)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix indicating a state or quality)