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extreme unction definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a Catholic sacrament; a priest anoints a dying person with oil and prays for salvation [syn: anointing of the sick, extreme unction, last rites]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 15th century a sacrament in which a priest anoints and prays for the recovery and salvation of a critically ill or injured person

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. To be heir, and to be king By sacred unction, thy deserved right. --Milton. 2. That which is used for anointing; an unguent; an ointment; hence, anything soothing or lenitive. The king himself the sacred unction made. --Dryden. Lay not that flattering unction to your soul. --Shak. 3. Divine or sanctifying grace. [R.] 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. The delightful equivoque and unction of the passage in Farquhar. --Hazlitt. The mention of thy glory Is unction to the breast. --Neale (Rhythm of St. Bernard). 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.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. 2. Last; final; conclusive; -- said of time; as, the extreme hour of life. 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. Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire. --Shak. 4. Radical; ultra; as, extreme opinions. The Puritans or extreme Protestants. --Gladstone. 5. (Mus.) Extended or contracted as much as possible; -- said of intervals; as, an extreme sharp second; an extreme flat forth. 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. 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.

Moby Thesaurus

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