Definitions

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

  • noun A protective or restorative liquid or cream applied to the skin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A washing; particularly, a washing of the skin.
  • noun A fluid preparation, wash, or cosmetic applied to the skin, especially the skin of the face, for the purpose of rendering it smooth, soft, or fair.
  • noun In pharmacy, a liquid holding in solution various medicinal substances, applied externally to stimulate action, to relieve pain, etc.
  • noun Drink (humorously conceived as a ‘wash’ or ‘remedy’).

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

  • noun A washing, especially of the skin for the purpose of rendering it fair.
  • noun A liquid preparation for bathing the skin, or an injured or diseased part, either for a medicinal purpose, or for improving its appearance.

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

  • noun A low- to medium-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin.
  • noun archaic A washing, especially of the skin for the purpose of beautification.
  • verb transitive To cover or treat with a lotion.

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

  • noun liquid preparation having a soothing or antiseptic or medicinal action when applied to the skin
  • noun any of various cosmetic preparations that are applied to the skin

Etymologies

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

[Middle English locion, from Old French lotion, from Latin lōtiō, lōtiōn-, a washing, from lōtus, past participle of lavere, to wash; see leu(ə)- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin lotio ("a washing"), from lavo ("to wash"); see lave.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word lotion.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.