Emily Dickinson Lexicon

EX'OR-CISE, v.t. [s as z. Gr. εξορκιζω, to adjure, from ὁρκιζω, to bind by oath, from ὁρκος, an oath.]

1. To adjure by some holy name; but chiefly, to expel evil spirits by conjurations, prayers and ceremonies. To exorcise a person, is to expel from him the evil spirit supposed to possess him. To exorcise a demon or evil spirit, is to cast him out or drive him from a person, by prayers or other ceremonies. Encyc.
2. To purify from unclean spirits by adjurations and ceremonies; to deliver from the influence of malignant spirits or demons; as, to exorcise a bed or a house.