Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To moisten and rub (a part of the body) with a liniment or lotion.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To moisten and rub, as a bruised or injured part of the body, with a liquid substance, as with liniment.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb (Med.) To moisten and rub (a diseased part) with a liquid substance, as with spirit, oil, etc., by means of a cloth or sponge.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb medicine, transitive To moisten and rub (a diseased part) with a liquid substance, as with spirit, oil, etc., by means of a cloth or sponge.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb administer an oil or ointment to ; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin embrocāre, embrocāt-, from Late Latin embrocha, lotion, from Greek embrokhē, from embrekhein, to foment : en-, in; see en– + brekhein, to wet.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

New Latin embrocatus, past participle of embrocare; compare Ancient Greek lotion, fomentation.

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Examples

  • Mr. Forbes, whom Selby had called in, by this time arrived; and, having declared that it would be injurious to her to take a journey in her present situation, ordered her to bed, and said he would send her something to embrocate the part affected. —

    The Offspring of Fancy Anonymous 1778

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