terg- +

1. To wipe or to make clean: Tom and Jerry were absterging the car before the family started on their trip.
2. To cleanse; hence, to purge: Rebecca, the nurse, absterged Manfred's wound with disinfectants and a special lotion.

1. To wipe away; to wash off or out, to cleanse.
2. Chiefly in medical use; to clear away foul matter from the body.
3. To cleanse of impurities or undesirable matter; such as, a wound.

1. Having detergent quality.
2. The quality of having cleansing power.

1. Having cleansing power.
2. Having the properties of a detergent.

1. A cleansing substance; especially, a synthetic liquid that dissolves dirt and oil.
2. A cleansing substance that acts similarly to soap but is made from chemical compounds rather than fats and lye.
3. Etymology: from 1616, from Latin detergentem, form of detergere "to wipe away"; from de-, "off, away" plus tergere, "to rub, polish, wipe".

It was originally a medical term. The modern application of "chemical cleansing product" came into existence at about 1938.

Purifying or cleansing agents, usually salts of long-chain aliphatic bases or acids, that exert cleansing (oil-dissolving) and antimicrobial effects through a surface action that depends on possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.