unction
pronunciation
How to pronounce unction in British English:
UK [ˈʌŋkʃn]
How to pronounce unction in American English:
US [ˈʌŋkʃən]
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- Noun:
- excessive but superficial compliments given with affected charm
- smug self-serving earnestness
- semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation
- anointing as part of a religious ceremony or healing ritual
Word Origin
- unction
- unction: [14] Unction was borrowed from Latin unctiō, a derivative of unguere ‘anoint’ (source also of English unguent [15]). This was descended from the same prehistoric ancestor as produced Welsh ymenyn ‘butter’. Unctuous [14], from the medieval Latin derivative unctuōsus, originally meant literally ‘oily, greasy’, but has since moved into more metaphorical areas.=> unctuous, unguent
- unction (n.)
- "act of anointing as a religious rite," late 14c., from Latin unctionem (nominative unctio) "anointing," from unctus, past participle of ungere "to anoint" (see unguent).
Example
- 1. Extreme unction ; the last rites before death .
- 2. Unction ; the last rites before death .
- 3. For love of grace , lay not that flattering unction to your soul .
- 4. Narrator : in a corner , a boy is unction reading a thick book .
- 5. But ye have an unction from the holy one , and ye know all things .