different between unctuous vs ointment

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin unctu?sus (“oily”), from Latin unctum, from unguere, ungere (“to anoint”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nkt?u?s/
• Hyphenation: unc?tu?ous

Adjective

unctuous (comparative more unctuous, superlative most unctuous)

1. (of a liquid or substance) Oily or greasy.
2. (of a wine, coffee, sauce, gravy etc.) Rich, lush, intense, with layers of concentrated, soft, velvety flavor.
3. (by extension, of a person) Profusely polite, especially unpleasantly so and insincerely earnest.
   • 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, page 14 ?ISBN

     Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous, false, and unwholesome, like the man.

Synonyms

• (of a liquid): oleaginous, saponaceous, slimy; see also Thesaurus:unctuous
• (of wine, coffee, sauce, gravy etc.): savorous
• (profusely, especially unpleasantly, polite): creepy, effusive, groveling, oleaginous, slimy, sycophantic; see also Thesaurus:sycophantic

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• unctuous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• unctuous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• unctuous at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Alternative forms

• oyntment (obsolete)

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)? (“I anoint”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?eng?- (“to smear, anoint”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???ntm(?)nt/, [?????(n)?.m??(n)?]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???n(t)m(?)nt/
• Hyphenation: oint?ment

Noun

ointment (plural ointments)

1. (medicine) A viscous preparation of oils and/or fats, usually containing medication, used as a treatment or as an emollient.
2. A substance used to anoint, as in religious rituals.

Synonyms

• salve
• unguent

Derived terms

• fly in the ointment
• ointmentlike

Related terms

Translations

See also

• cream
• inunction
• liniment
• unction
• unctuous
• unguent

Further reading

• ointment in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ointment in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• ointment at OneLook Dictionary Search