ointment
oint·ment
noun
semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation
Origin
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.
Phrases
- blue ointment
- citrine ointment
- fly in the ointment
- flying ointment
- saracenic ointment
- Whitfield's ointment
Related words
Narrower terms
Part of
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.