unction
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈʌŋkʃən/
- Formal
:
unción
- She was receiving extreme unction from a well-endowed, if aged, prelate whose high station in the hierarchy of the Church was identifiable only by the miter perched on his head.
- extreme unction
- sacrament of unction
- unction as anointing
Examples
-
Bosch follows this tradition in showing the dying man on his deathbed receiving the last rites, the sacrament of unction.
Academic text (2001) -
The Church administered a sacrament called extreme unction to the dying, as a sort of booster shot of holiness right before approaching the pearly gates.
Academic text (2010) -
Through this holy unction, may the Lord pardon you your faults and whatever sins thou has committed.
-
At times, hara-kiri was as necessary to the Japanese as extreme unction is to a devout Catholic.
Academic text (2010) -
But then Aunt Liz said the only one in heaven we could be sure of was Grandma because she was the only one who had received the sacrament of Extreme Unction before she died.
Fiction book (1991) -
"In nomine Patris..." Eddie listened to the murmuring of Father's voice as he administered Extreme Unction, the same voice that had prayed their wedding Mass and baptized their children.
Fiction book (1999) -
The priest performed the unction on the sick, offering them comfort and forgiveness through his anointing with holy oil.
-
During the ceremony, the congregation witnessed the unction that symbolized healing and was an essential part of their faith.
-
At the hospital, the chaplain was called to provide an unction for the terminally ill patient, bringing spiritual solace in their final moments.
Synonyms
8
7.9
To put oil on a person or thing in a religious ceremony
1
8.2
To apply oil to a person in a religious ceremony to show blessing or protection
An act of putting oil on a person during a religious or healing ceremony
Compounds
- Archaic
1
9.9
A ceremony in which a priest puts oil on a dying person and prays for them
Surface Forms
Etymology
Unction meaning the act of anointing comes from the Latin ungere 'to anoint'. Kings and priests were given oil in a ceremony, so unction still means the religious action of putting oil on someone.