ointment
UK /ˈɔɪntm(ə)nt/ · US /ˈɔɪn(t)m(ə)nt/ noun
Forms ointments oyntment
- noun (medicine) A viscous preparation of oils and/or fats, usually containing medication, used as a treatment or as an emollient. “The doctor prescribed an antibiotic ointment for the wound.”
- noun A substance used to anoint, as in religious rituals.
Synonyms
salve unguent pomatum pomade pomate unction balm cream emollient
Etymology
A later form (as if oint + -ment) of Middle English oinement, borrowed from Old French oignement (“an anointing”), from oigner, oindre, ongier (“to anoint”), from Latin ung(u)ō (“I anoint”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to smear, anoint”). Partly displaced native Old English sealf, whence modern salve.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which serves to anoint; any soft unctuous substance used for smearing or anointing; an unguent.
Etymology [OE. oinement, OF. oignement, fr.F. oindre to anoint, L. ungere, unguere; akin to Skr. a, and to G. anke (in Switzerland) butter. The first t in the E. word is due to the influence of anoint. Cf. Anoint, Unguent.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ointment”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details