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What is "extreme unction"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.

    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, 1

  5. ]

Extreme unction

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.

Wiktionary
extreme unction

n. The catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick

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]

Usage examples of "extreme unction".

It had been able to recognize the Latin because the rite of extreme unction was a set piece.

Stories about wolves and about witches whose skin turned black when they were given extreme unction.

He asked me to give you extreme unction, which I agreed to do, although that sacrament no longer seems appropriate.

I did administer Extreme Unction, but then the panic struck me and I left my poor guide’.

I did administer Extreme Unction, but then the panic struck me and I left my poor guide's body, desperately searched through the supplies for a weapon, and took away the machete I had used in the rain forest and the low-voltage maser with which I had planned to hunt small game.

The sacrament of extreme unction was given only to those poor souls hovering at death's door.

Confession and Communion were administered to the dying man, and preparations were being made for extreme unction, while the mansion was filled with the bustle and expectation usual in such circumstances.

The two priests were the first to die, so none of them were given extreme unction.

You are aware, my lord duke, that directly any member of the royal family is attacked by the small-pox, he ought immediately to receive extreme unction.