extreme unction
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Unction \Unc"tion\, n. [OE. unccioun, uncioun, OF. oncion,
onction, F. onction, fr. L. unctio, fr. ungere, unctum, to
anoint. See {Unguent}.]
1. The act of anointing, smearing, or rubbing with an
unguent, oil, or ointment, especially for medical
purposes, or as a symbol of consecration; as, mercurial
unction.
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To be heir, and to be king
By sacred unction, thy deserved right. --Milton.
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2. That which is used for anointing; an unguent; an ointment;
hence, anything soothing or lenitive.
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The king himself the sacred unction made. --Dryden.
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Lay not that flattering unction to your soul.
--Shak.
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3. Divine or sanctifying grace. [R.]
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4. That quality in language, address, or the like, which
excites emotion; especially, strong devotion; religious
fervor and tenderness; sometimes, a simulated, factitious,
or unnatural fervor.
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The delightful equivoque and unction of the passage
in Farquhar. --Hazlitt.
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The mention of thy glory
Is unction to the breast. --Neale
(Rhythm of St.
Bernard).
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{Extreme unction} (R. C. Ch. & Gr. Ch.), the sacrament of
anointing in the last hours; the application of
consecrated oil by a priest to all the senses, that is, to
eyes, ears, nostrils, etc., of a person when in danger of
death from illness, -- done for remission of sins. [James
v. 14, 15.]
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Extreme \Ex*treme"\, a. [L. extremus, superl. of exter, extrus,
on the outside, outward: cf. F. extr[^e]me. See {Exterior}.]
1. At the utmost point, edge, or border; outermost; utmost;
farthest; most remote; at the widest limit.
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2. Last; final; conclusive; -- said of time; as, the extreme
hour of life.
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3. The best of worst; most urgent; greatest; highest;
immoderate; excessive; most violent; as, an extreme case;
extreme folly. "The extremest remedy." --Dryden. "Extreme
rapidity." --Sir W. Scott.
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Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire. --Shak.
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4. Radical; ultra; as, extreme opinions.
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The Puritans or extreme Protestants. --Gladstone.
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5. (Mus.) Extended or contracted as much as possible; -- said
of intervals; as, an extreme sharp second; an extreme flat
forth.
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{Extreme and mean ratio} (Geom.), the relation of a line and
its segments when the line is so divided that the whole is
to the greater segment is to the less.
{Extreme distance}. (Paint.) See {Distance}., n., 6.
{Extreme unction}. See under {Unction}.
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Note: Although this adjective, being superlative in
signification, is not properly subject to comparison,
the superlative form not unfrequently occurs,
especially in the older writers. "Tried in his
extremest state." --Spenser. "Extremest hardships."
--Sharp. "Extremest of evils." --Bacon. "Extremest
verge of the swift brook." --Shak. "The sea's extremest
borders." --Addison.
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from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
32 Moby Thesaurus words for "extreme unction":
baptism, burial service, chrism, chrismal, chrismation,
chrismatory, chrisom, confirmation, deathwatch, dirge, eulogy,
exequies, funeral oration, funeral rites, holy orders, last duty,
last honors, last offices, last rites, matrimony, obsequies,
ointment, penance, requiem, requiem mass, sacramental anointment,
sacred unction, seven sacraments, the Eucharist, unction, viaticum,
wake
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