clean 
3. Morally pure ; guiltless ; upright ; honorable. 
Thow taugtest hem in the trinitee to take baptesme, 
And be dene thorvv that ery.-stennynge of alle kynnes 
synnes. J'isi-x J'/tiirmiin (B), xiv. 184. 
He knew who should betray him ; therefore said he, Ye 
are not ali clean. John xiii. 11. 
Mr. will be a formidable rival among the better 
class. "He is a very clean man. He got his nomination 
in a very clean way." 
Springfield Rep. , quot. in Merriam's Life of Bowles, II. 261. 
4. Among the Jews : (a) Of persons, free from 
ceremonial defilement. 
And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall 
bring two turtles, or two young pigeons ; the one for a 
borat-offcrtng, ami the other for a sin-offering: and the 
priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be 
clean. Lev. xii. 8. 
(6) Of animals and things, not causing cere- 
monial defilement ; specifically, of animals, not 
forbidden by the ceremonial law for use in sac- 
rifice and for food. 
Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, . . . 
there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark. 
Gen. vii. 8, 9. 
But rather give alms of such things as ye have ; and, be- 
hold, all things are clean unto you. Luke xi. 41. 
5. Free from defect in substance or execution ; 
without blemish or shortcoming : as, a clean gar- 
den; clean timber; a clean proof (in printing) ; 
to make a clean copy from a draft ; to make a 
cfeawjobof a piece of work. 6f. Clear; bright; 
keen; incisive. 
And Deffebus, my dere son, I dem hym the next; 
With counsel! & comfort! of dene men of wit, . . . 
That fare shall in fere <t feliship to gedur. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2798. 
Of youre dene witte and youre consayte 
I am full gladde in harte and thought, 
And hym to mete with-outen latt 
I am redy. York flays, p. 208. 
7t. Noble; excellent; notable. 
In his company come mony dene Dnkes, 
And Erles also, with mony gret lordis. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4078. 
In kynges court and knyghtes the den-nest men and fairest 
Shullen serue for the lord selue, so fareth god almyghty. 
Piers Plowman (C), xix. 95. 
8. Whole ; entire ; complete. 
He that made man mest sour lines mot saue 
& alle oure dene compame. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1434. 
Seying that the Savyor of all the world shuld sulfre hys 
Deth vpon that Tree, Ther is dene remission. 
Torkinffton, Diarie of Eng. Travel), p. 27. 
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shall 
not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field. 
Lev. xxiii. 22. 
9. Well-proportioned; shapely; elegant. 
Methoughte he had a pair 
Of legges and of feet, so dene and fair, 
That all my herte I gaf unto his hold. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Talc, 1. 598. 
Thy waist is straight and clean. Waller. 
They [Indians] are straight and well proportioned, hav- 
ing the deanest and most exact limbs in the world. 
Severity, Virginia, iii. H 1. 
10. Free from awkwardness; not bungling; 
dexterous; adroit: as, a clean boxer; a clean 
leap; a clean trick. 11. In whale-fishing, hav- 
ing no fish or oil aboard ; having captured no 
whales. 
Three vessels were reported clean, the remainder having 
from one to nine [whales]. Science, VI. 259. 
12f. Free; unencumbered. 
What brother or sistir of this fraternite dye, he shal 
haue, of the dene katel [chattel, property] of the Gilde, 
xx. messes songyn for his soule. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 46. 
Clean bill Of health. See bill of health, under bill3.~ 
Clean hands, freedom from wrong-doing ; innocence of 
evil intention : originally biblical and used in the broad- 
est sense, but now used especially with regard to financial 
transactions : as, he retired from office with clean hands. 
He that hath dean hands, and a pure heart. Ps. xxiv. 4. 
The Clean thing, the right course to pursue ; the honor- 
able thing to do. [Colloq.] 
It would have been the clean thin// to say at once that 
no debate would be allowed, instead of professing a readi- 
ness to go into debate, and then to refuse discussion. 
Washington Patriot, April 3, 1871. 
To make a clean breast of. See ureaet.lo make 
a clean sweep. See sweep. 
clean (klen), adv. [< ME. dene, < AS. clane, 
quite, entirely, < deem, clean. Cf. dear, adv.] 
1. In a clean manner. 
All his apparell cleane brusht, and his shoes made cleane 
Rhodes, Boke of Nurture (E. E. T. S.), p. 70. 
2. Quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely; fully: 
as, the dam was carried clean away. 
Contricioun hadde dene forjjeten to crye and to wepe. 
Piers Plowman (B), xx. 367. 
The people . . . passed clean over Jordan. Josh. iii. 17. 
Now a ball or two may pass clean through your body 
and never do any harm at all. Sheridan, The Rivals, v. 3. 
1036 
3. Without miscarriage ; dexterously ; neatly ; 
cleverly. [Obsolescent.] 
Byte not tin mete, but kerve it dene, 
Be welle ware no drop be sene. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 20. 
Pope came off clean with Homer. Rev. J. Henley. 
4f. Nobly ; beautifully. 
Kyng Auferius came crossyng them the way, 
ffutl dene armyd in riche and good Aray. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S), 1. 2728. 
Clean cam. See cnn2. 
clean (klen), v. t. [< clean, a. The old verb is 
linuise, q. v.] 1. To make clean; remove all 
foreign or defiling matter from ; purify; cleanse. 
Time enough to clean our ship's bottom. 
Dampier, Voyages, an. 1688. 
Clean'd their vigorous wings. Thomson, Autumn, 1. 857. 
2. To remove by cleaning or in the process of 
cleaning: witho^f: as, to clean off filth. ciean- 
Ing-and-sorting machine, in brewing, a form of grain- 
cleaner nsed for freeing barley, previous to malting, from 
all foreign substances, such as other grain, the seeds of 
grass and weeds, dust, and dirt ; a malt-cleaning machine. 
To clean out. () To deprive of all available means ; 
exhaust the pecuniary resources of. 
He [Bentley] must have been pretty well cleaned ottt. 
De Quincey. 
(b) To remove completely; clear out. [Colloq.] = Syn. 
Clean, Cleanse. Cleanse is stronger than clean, expressing 
more thorough work. Clean is generally used of physical 
purification ; cleanse, of physical or moral. Clean is more 
common. 
Having bought my boat, . . . I require a menial to clean 
it now and then. Howells, Venetian Life, vii. 
I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers. 
Jieh. xiii. 9. 
Cleanse me from my sin. Ps. li. 2. 
Only that is poetry which cleanses and mans me. 
Emerson, Inspiration. 
clean-cut (klen'kut), a. Clear-cut ; well-shaped ; 
definite ; precise :' as, a clean-cut mouth ; a clean- 
cut statement. 
A fine orator with a clean-cut perception of the political 
facts of the situation and a patriotic desire to serve all. 
S. Bowles, in Merriam, II. 420. 
cleaner (kle'ner), . One who or that which 
cleans. Specifically (a) A curriers' knife. (b)Infound- 
ing, a hand-tool used in making molds, (c) One of a pair 
of small card-cylinders in a carding-machine which remove 
the fiber from another small cylinder called a worker, and 
return it to the main card-cylinder ; an urchin. Cotton- 
seed Cleaner. See cotton-seed. 
clean-handed (klen'han"ded), a. 1. Having 
clean hands. 2. Figuratively, free from moral 
taint or suspicion; guiltless of wrong-doing: 
now used mostly of fidelity to pecuniary trusts : 
as, he came out of the transaction clean-handed. 
cleaning (kle'ning), n. [Verbal n. of clean, .] 
1. The act of making clean. 2. The after- 
birth of cows, ewes, etc. 
cleaning-machine (kle'ning-ma-shen"), n. In 
silk-mantif., a machine in which dust and 
other foreign substances are removed from silk 
thread by drawing it through a brush. Knots and 
tangles are taken out by drawing the thread through a 
notch in a bar. If a knot catches, the bobbin which car- 
ries that thread is lifted off the friction-roll which drives it, 
and its motion ceases until the operator frees the thread. 
cleanish (kle'nish), a. [< clean + -s/ii.] 
Rather clean. 
cleanlily (klen'li-li), adv. In a cleanly manner ; 
neatly ; cleverly. 
clean-limbed (klen'limd), a. Having well-pro- 
portioned limbs ; lithe; shapely: as, "a clean- 
limbed fellow," Dickens. 
Tonquin is very populous, being thick set with Villages ; 
and the Natives in general are of a middle stature, and 
clean-limb'd. Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 40. 
cleanliness (klen'li-nes), n. The state or char- 
acter of being cleanly ; freedom from dirt, filth, 
or any foul matter; the disposition to keep 
clean, or the habit of keeping so. 
Not to need any exquisite decking, having no adornment 
but deanlinesi. Sir P. Sidney. 
The cleanliness of its streets. Aadison, Travels in Italy. 
Such cleanliness from head to heel. Swift. 
cleanly (klen'li), a. [Now spelled cleanly in- 
stead of clenly, in imitation of clean; early mod. 
~E._denly, < ME. clenly, clenliche, clanly, < AS. 
clainlic, a., < cliene, clean, + -lie: see clean, a., 
and -ty 1 .] 1. Free from dirt or any foul mat- 
ter; personally neat ; careful to keep or make 
clean. * 
An ant is a very cleanly insect, and throws out of her nest 
all the small remains of the corn on which she feeds. 
Addison. 
Some plain but cleanly country maid. Dryden. 
2. Free from injurious or polluting influence ; 
pure; innocent: as, " cleanly joys," Glanville. 
3f. Cleansing; making clean. 
The fair 
With cleanly powder dry their hair. Prior. 
cleanse 
4f. Dexterous; adroit; clever; artful. 
For he was school'd by kimk> in all the skill 
Of close conveyance, and eacll practise ill 
Of coosinage and cleanly kmiverie. 
Sfnutr, Mother Hub. Tale. 
5. Neat; trim; well-shaped. Compare clean, 
a., 9. 
As the kynge come fro chirche on a day, ther mette 
hym a comly man, well araied, and clenly. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), i. 45. 
He [the verse-maker] may both vse, and also manifest 
his arte to his great praise, and need no more be ashamed 
thereof than a shoemaker to haue made a cleanly shoe, or 
a Carpenter to haue buylt a faire house. 
Piittrnliam, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 253. 
cleanly (klen'li), ttdr. [< ME. clenli/, clenli, 
clttnliche,< AS. clainlice (= MD. lieinlick = OHG. 
cleinlMio), adv., < cli&nlic, a.: see cleanly, a., 
clean, a., and-/// 2 .] 1. Entirely; wholly; com- 
pletely. [Clean is generally used in this sense.] 
All the councell fro kourtt was clenely depertid. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 11527. 
When Castor had clanly consayuit his [Antenor's] wille, 
He onswared him. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1918. 
The pollen-masses were not removed nearly so cleanly 
as those which had been naturally removed by insects. 
Darwin, Fertil. of Orchids by Insects, p. 98. 
2. In a clean manner; neatly; without soil or 
uncleanness. 
Whether our natives might not live cleanly and com- 
fortably. Bp. Berkeley, Querist. 
He was very cleanly dressed. Dickent. 
3. Decently; morally; with freedom from vice 
or impurity. 
If I do grow great, . . . I'll . . . live cleanly, as a noble- 
man should do. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 4. 
4f. Cleverly; adroitly; dexterously. 
His kyrtel of clene whfjt clenlyche y-sewed. 
Purs Plowman's Crede (E. E. T. S.), 1. 229. 
Nor fold my fault in cZtnii/-coiii'd excuses. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 1073. 
To have a quick hand and convey things cleanly. 
Middleton, Witch, ii. 3. 
5f. Clearly; unmistakably. 
He the kinges cry clenli hadde herde. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3847. 
cleanness (klen ' nes), n. [< ME. clennesse, 
clannesse, etc., < AS. clcennes, < claine, clean, + 
-nes, -ness : see clean, a., and -nes*.] The state 
or quality of being clean. () Freedom from dirt, 
filth, or foreign or offensive matter ; neatness. 
Cleanness of body is rightly esteemed to proceed from 
a modesty of manners, and from reverence. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, iv. 2. 
(b) Freedom from ceremonial pollution. 
No scrupulous purity, none of the ceremonial cleanness 
which characterizes the diction of onr academical phari- 
sees. Macaulay. 
(<) Exactness ; purity ; justness ; correctness : nsed of lan- 
guage or style. 
He minded only the clearness of his satire, and the 
cleanness of expression. Dryden, Juvenal's Satires. 
(d) Moral purity; innocence; freedom from anything dis- 
honorable, immoral, or sinful. 
Vnder shadow of shame shewid forth hir ernd, 
With a compas of clennes to colour hir speche. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 523. 
Clannesse of the comnne and clerkes clene lyuynge 
Made unite holychurche in holynesse stonde. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxii. 381. 
The cleanness and purity of one's mind. Pope. 
cleansable (klen'za-bl), a. [< cleanse + -able.] 
Capable of being 'cleansed. Sherwood. Also 
spelled, less correctly, cleansible. [Rare.] 
cleanse (klenz), . ; pret. and pp. cleansed, 
ppr. cleansing. [Now spelled cleanse instead of 
dense, in imitation of clean ; early mod. E. dense, 
< ME. densen, clensien, < AS. clainsian, make 
clean, a causal verb with formative -s (cf. rinse), 
< cliene, clean: see clean, a.~\ I. trans. 1. To 
make clean ; free from filth, impurity, infection, 
or, in general, from whatever is polluting, nox- 
ious, or offensive. 
Whanne ye shalle drynke, your mouthe clence withe a 
clothe. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 6. 
Where ploughmen cleanse the earth of rubbish, weed, and 
filth, 
And give the fallow lands their seasons and their tilth. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, iii. 351. 
This river the Jews proffered the Pope to cleanse, so 
they might have what they found. 
Addigon, Travels in Italy. 
2. To free from moral impurity or guilt. 
Lord, grawnt me, ar [before] that I deye, 
Sorowe of herte with terys of eye, 
Clene densyd for thy mercye. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 193. 
Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Ps. xix. 12. 
