Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CLEAN, v.t. [Sax. clænan; W. glanau. See the Adjective.]

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.