Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Unction

Unc′tion (ŭn̲k′shŭn), 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.]

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.