lustral

[ luhs-truhl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or employed in the lustrum, or rite of purification.
2. occurring every five years; quinquennial.

lustral

/ ˈlʌstrəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a ceremony of purification
2. taking place at intervals of five years; quinquennial

Word History and Origins

Origin of lustral¹

From the Latin word lūstrālis, dating back to 1525–35. See lustrum, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lustral¹

C16: from Latin lūstrālis adj from lustrum

Example Sentences

Written while grappling with the deeply corporeal experience of pregnancy — which Halsey, who is nonbinary, said “leveled my perception of gender entirely” — “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God” is as much a razor-sharp thesis on their identity as it is a lustral exhale.

From Los Angeles Times

He poured over her the lustral water symbolic of purification and conferred upon her jeweled decorations denoting her rank.

From Washington Times

My mother would intone the appropriate incantations to drive out the evil spirits, and sprinkle our family, our home, and its surroundings with her lustral libations.

From The New Yorker

Aretos brought clear lustral water in a bowl quivering with fresh-cut flowers, a basket of barley in his other hand.

From Literature

It was agony for her to breathe that impure air any longer, and that she might freely give herself up to her grief she took refuge in the upper apartments reserved for the women, summoned her slaves by clapping her hands, and poured ewers of water over her shoulders, her bosom, and her whole body, as, though hoping by this species of lustral ablution to efface the soil imprinted by the eyes of Gyges.

From Project Gutenberg