pulire

to clean

verb poo-LEE-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin polire (to polish, refine); Vulgar Latin shifted the sense to general cleaning.

Usage Note

Pulire is an -isc- verb (irrregular in the present tense): pulisco, pulisci, pulisce, puliamo, pulite, puliscono. It takes avere as its auxiliary. The past participle is regular: pulito. Pulito also functions as an adjective meaning 'clean'. The related noun is pulizia (cleanliness, cleaning). Compare lavare (to wash) — pulire has a broader sense of tidying and wiping.

Examples

"Pulisco la cucina ogni sabato mattina."

Natural Translation

I clean the kitchen every Saturday morning.

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