Found 2 items, similar to extreme unction.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: extreme unction extreme unction n : a Catholic sacrament; a priest anoints a dying person with oil and prays for salvation [syn: anointing of the sick, last rites]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Extreme unction 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. [1913 Webster] To be heir, and to be king By sacred unction, thy deserved right. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. That which is used for anointing; an unguent; an ointment; hence, anything soothing or lenitive. [1913 Webster] The king himself the sacred unction made. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] Lay not that flattering unction to your soul. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. Divine or sanctifying grace. [R.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] The delightful equivoque and unction of the passage in Farquhar. --Hazlitt. [1913 Webster] The mention of thy glory Is unction to the breast. --Neale (Rhythm of St. Bernard). [1913 Webster] 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.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 2. Last; final; conclusive; -- said of time; as, the extreme hour of life. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 4. Radical; ultra; as, extreme opinions. [1913 Webster] The Puritans or extreme Protestants. --Gladstone. [1913 Webster] 5. (Mus.) Extended or contracted as much as possible; -- said of intervals; as, an extreme sharp second; an extreme flat forth. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]