Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In medicine, a soft and moist substance to be applied to some part of the body; a poultice.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A soft and moist substance applied externally to some part of the body; a poultice.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun medicine A poultice or plaster, spread over one's skin as medical treatment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English cathaplasma and French cataplasme, both from Latin cataplasma, from Greek kataplasma, from kataplassein, to plaster over : kata-, down, onto, over; see cata– + plassein, to mold, form; see plasma.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin cataplasma, from Ancient Greek κατάπλασμα (katáplasma).

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Examples

  • The clay cataplasm (that the vet authorized!) is working, along with the antibiotics.

    French Word-A-Day: 2009

  • The clay cataplasm (that the vet authorized!) is working, along with the antibiotics.

    retirer - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • The clay cataplasm that the vet authorized! is working, along with the antibiotics.

    French Word-A-Day: 2009

  • The clay cataplasm that the vet authorized! is working, along with the antibiotics.

    retirer - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • Quote of the Day: "But Alexia, this is a cataplasm of epic proportions!"

    I, For One, Welcome My Outline Overlord gailcarriger 2008

  • But if it be inflamed, having boiled in water the root of me ivy, finely powdered, and mixing the finest flour, and stirring it up with white wine, apply as a cataplasm, and mix up some fat with these things.

    On Fistulae 2007

  • Another: - Having pounded the seed of hemlock, pour on it a fragrant white wine, and then apply in a tepid state as a cataplasm.

    On Fistulae 2007

  • Egyptian alum pulverized, form into an oblong ball (suppository?) and warming it gently at the fire, make it into a cataplasm, foment, form it into shape with the fingers, and then making it quite tepid, introduce it into the anus.

    On Fistulae 2007

  • Another: Having scraped off the rind of the most tender roots of the wild vine, which some call psilothrion, boil in a dark austere wine undiluted; then having pounded, apply as a tepid cataplasm; but mix also flour and stir it up with white wine and oil in a tepid state.

    On Fistulae 2007

  • Another: - Having bruised the inner part of a ripe cucumber to a soft state, apply as a cataplasm.

    On Fistulae 2007

Comments

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  • "By midnight Reardon lay in a comfortable room, a huge cataplasm fixed upon him, and other needful arrangements made."

    - George Gissing, New Grub Street.

    January 31, 2008

  • No kittens were harmed in the making of this word.

    October 5, 2008

  • "Hassan asks that a shaman abstract a talc cataplasm that can thwart a blatant rash (raw scars that can scar a man's scalp and gall a man's glans: scratch, scratch)."

    Eunoia by Christian Bök (upgraded edition), p 30

    May 20, 2010

  • See malagma, another "a"-monovocalic word of similar meaning.

    December 18, 2010