oint·ment

[oint-muhnt]
noun Pharmacology.
a soft, unctuous preparation, often medicated, for application to the skin; unguent.

Origin:
1250–1300; obsolete oint (aphetic variant of anoint) + -ment; replacing Middle English oignement < Old French < Vulgar Latin *unguimentum for Latin unguentum; see unguent


salve, balm; nard.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
ointment (ˈɔɪntmənt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a fatty or oily medicated formulation applied to the skin to heal or protect
2.  a similar substance used as a cosmetic
 
[C14: from Old French oignement, from Latin unguentumunguent]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Ointment is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ointment
late 13c., from O.Fr. oignement, from V.L. *unguimentum, from L. unguentum (see unguent). The first -t- emerged in O.Fr. from oint, p.p. of verb oindre "to anoint."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

ointment oint·ment (oint'mənt)
n.
A highly viscous or semisolid preparation usually containing medicinal substances and intended for external application.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Easton
Bible Dictionary

Ointment definition


Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical purposes, are so called (Ex. 30:25; Ps. 133:2; Isa. 1:6; Amos 6:6; John 12:3; Rev. 18:13).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

ointment

see fly in the ointment.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The sole fly in this otherwise insect-free ointment are the pistes themselves.
Your health care provider may prescribe an antibiotic ointment to be applied to
  the lid edge.
Even the need for making tears has been taken over by the ophthalmic ointment
  that protects his corneas.
The history of science can be the journalistic topical ointment.
Idioms & Phrases
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