extreme unction
    n 1: a Catholic sacrament; a priest anoints a dying person with
         oil and prays for salvation [syn: anointing of the sick,
         extreme unction, last rites]

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.
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            To be heir, and to be king
            By sacred unction, thy deserved right. --Milton.
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   2. That which is used for anointing; an unguent; an ointment;
      hence, anything soothing or lenitive.
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            The king himself the sacred unction made. --Dryden.
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            Lay not that flattering unction to your soul.
                                                  --Shak.
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   3. Divine or sanctifying grace. [R.]
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   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.
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            The delightful equivoque and unction of the passage
            in Farquhar.                          --Hazlitt.
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            The mention of thy glory
            Is unction to the breast.             --Neale
                                                  (Rhythm of St.
                                                  Bernard).
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   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.]
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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.
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   2. Last; final; conclusive; -- said of time; as, the extreme
      hour of life.
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   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.
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            Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire. --Shak.
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   4. Radical; ultra; as, extreme opinions.
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            The Puritans or extreme Protestants.  --Gladstone.
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   5. (Mus.) Extended or contracted as much as possible; -- said
      of intervals; as, an extreme sharp second; an extreme flat
      forth.
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   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.
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   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.
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