资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.]

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.

资料来源 : WordNet®

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}]