means To wash something with clean water to remove soap, dirt, or residue, leaving it clear and clean.

from From Old French 'reincier' (to wash, cleanse), which came into Middle English as 'rinsen.' The deeper roots are murky — it's possibly related to Latin 'recentare' (to make fresh again), itself from 'recens' (fresh, recent), the same family that gave us 'recent.' So to rinse is, etymologically, to make something fresh once more.