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  1. unguent love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A salve for soothing or healing; an ointment.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Any soft composition used as an ointment or for lubrication.

Wiktionary

  1. n. any cream containing medicinal ingredients applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A lubricant or salve for sores, burns, or the like; an ointment.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation

Etymologies

  1. From Latin unguentum ("ointment"), from unguō ("smear with ointment"), from Proto-Indo-European *ongw- (“to salve”). (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Latin unguentum, from unguere, to anoint. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Now, Sharpe, the fly in our unguent is the fact these royal guards are all Irish.”

    Sharpe's Battle

  • “Sure, someone recently offered to send me some kind of unguent to evaluate, but I declined.”

    Comfy Chairs: Riding and Reading

  • “Two assistants of the torturer bathed the lacerated shoulders of the culprit, applied to them some kind of unguent which immediately closed the wounds, and threw over his back a yellow cloth shaped like a chasuble; Pierrat Torterue meanwhile letting the blood drain from the lashes of his scourge in great drops on to the ground.”

    IV. A Tear for a Drop of Water. Book VI

  • “This powerful emmenagogue was a kind of unguent composed of several drugs, such as saffron, myrrh, etc., compounded with virgin honey.”

    The Complete Memoirs of Jacques Casanova

  • “I don't know about you guys, but I'm still having trouble with the word "salvific" It just sounds like some kind of unguent to me …”

    Knowledge is Power

  • “Pearl Hand traded a couple of pieces of shell for a pot of unguent made from spruce needles, boiled pine needles, and red root.”

    Simon & Schuster: Fire The Sky

  • “I made an appointment with him and was shown it floating in a jar of clean unguent.”

    Fictionaut: Locust Valley Breakdown

  • “The unguent softened the hard ridges of the scar, allowed it to become more pliable, and relieved him from the agony of just moving.”

    Simon & Schuster: One Night in Scotland

  • “He carried no unguent, so apparently, I had carried that point.”

    Fictionaut: Enjoyment

  • “They never considered getting an unguent for those itchy fingers.”

    15 – September – 2009 – The Bleat.

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synonyms (1)

Words with the same meaning

  1. ointment

hypernyms (4)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. curative
  1. remedy
  1. therapeutic
  1. cure

hyponyms (13)

Words that are more specific

  1. lip balm
  2. carron oil
  1. cerate
  2. baby oil
  1. zinc ointment
  2. chrisom
  1. Arnica
  2. balsam
  1. holy oil
  2. sacramental oil
  1. mercurial ointment
  2. chrism
  1. mentholated salve

same context (23)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. salve
  2. lotion
  3. embrocation
  4. ointment
  1. Canopic
  2. olive oil
  3. elixir
  4. hair-powder
  1. optometry
  2. Vaseline
  3. spicery
  4. moisturizer
  1. balm
  2. potpourri
  3. pomatum
  4. sandalwood
  1. majolica
  2. bohea
  3. frankincense
  4. unction
  1. philtre
  2. poultice
  3. petrolatum

reverse dictionary (22)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. fricace
  2. ceroma
  3. uncture
  4. unguento
  1. unguentous
  2. oleamen
  3. chandla
  4. cold-cream
  1. ambrosia
  2. balm of Gilead
  3. unguentum
  4. moelline
  1. ointment
  2. onguent
  3. pomade
  4. pomatum
  1. unction
  2. unctuous
  3. unguentary
  4. Vaseline
  1. nard
  2. spikenard

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Comments

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  • chelster After the traditional American and British UNG-gwent, the Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English (2003) records a recent British variant, UNG-gyu-wunt, that does not appear in the second edition of the OED (1989). The best that can be said of it is that it's an overpronunciation. The variant UN-jent in Merriam-Webster is preposterous, but M-W is infamous for sanctioning eccentric and stigmatized pronunciations that other dictionaries ignore. — The Orthoepist Dec 6, 2010

  • pterodactyl I quite like the pronunciation. "Ung-went" is a rich and creamy sound, like the best and most expensive ointments. "Un-jent" is a sharp and pungent sound; it makes me think of spicy incense, not creamy ointment.

    Not that there's anything wrong with spicy incense, of course. It's just a totally different thing altogether.

    C_b, would you consider "unguent" for inclusion on your Creative Onomatopoeia list? Dec 2, 2010

  • chained_bear At the risk of being a pedant (I trust no one is surprised), if I heard some yahoo pronounce it "unjent" in a meeting, or somewhere, I'd call them out on it.

    Sometimes the M-W office, I suspect, is filled with insane people. May 19, 2009

  • bilby Yeah, the slobberdegullier the better. May 19, 2009

  • madmouth I thought it was ung-yoo-ent and delighted in the disgusting sound of it. alas.
    M-W claims 'un-jent' is acceptable. May 19, 2009

  • Prolagus Does it qualify for "Unexpected pronunciations", then? Dec 25, 2008

  • reesetee But roseandivy, it sounds so...languid. :-) Feb 28, 2008

  • yarb That classic scene in Fargo. Ung-went! Feb 28, 2008

  • roseandivy This word disappointed me terribly. I was so sure it was pronounced un'JEHNT. Which is tasty. ung'gwehnt is icky. Feb 28, 2008

  • trivet One of the TSA's new obsessions... Feb 21, 2007

  • chained_bear An ointment or salve, neither of which word is as exciting as unguent.

    Usages: c1440 Pallad. on Husb. IV. 147 Or madifie hit so in oil lauryne, Let drie hem, sowe hem, vp by oon assent They wol, and haue odour like her vnguent. 1778 LIGHTFOOT Flora Scot. II. 618 The buds yield a yellow resinous unguent. 1857 MAURICE Ep. St. John x. 162 Oils and unguents in the East had a virtue which we do not commonly attach to them.

    Feb 3, 2007

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‘unguent’ has been looked up 2661 times, loved by 2 people, added to 63 lists, commented on 11 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.