entry
anoint
/əˈnɔɪnt/Smear with oil; consecrate or officially choose
From O.English, ultimately Latin prefix usage in this compound in (in) + Latin unguere (smear).
from Latin inunguere "to anoint,"
from Latin inunguere "to anoint,"
from Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on,"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin inunguere "to anoint,"
from Latin inunguere "to anoint,"
from Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on,"
+1 more sourceBefore “anoint” sounded like something reserved for kings and prophets, it was much more down-to-earth: oil rubbed onto skin, perhaps as medicine, perfume, or protection against imagined demons. Latin speakers built the verb inunguere from in-, “on or into,” and unguere, “to smear”; its oily family still survives in unguent and the wonderfully slippery adjective unctuous. Medieval French turned the expression into enoindre and its participle enoint, which English borrowed as enointen before the opening vowel drifted toward anoint in the late fourteenth century. The Coverdale Bible of 1535 helped give the word its grand religious aura, especially in phrases such as “the Lord’s Anointed.” Later, the physical dab of oil became a metaphorical coronation: a party can “anoint” a successor without bringing out a cruet, so modern power still carries a faint shine of sacred oil.
The Story
Before “anoint” sounded like something reserved for kings and prophets, it was much more down-to-earth: oil rubbed onto skin, perhaps as medicine, perfume, or protection against imagined demons. Latin speakers built the verb inunguere from in-, “on or into,” and unguere, “to smear”; its oily family still survives in unguent and the wonderfully slippery adjective unctuous. Medieval French turned the expression into enoindre and its participle enoint, which English borrowed as enointen before the opening vowel drifted toward anoint in the late fourteenth century. The Coverdale Bible of 1535 helped give the word its grand religious aura, especially in phrases such as “the Lord’s Anointed.” Later, the physical dab of oil became a metaphorical coronation: a party can “anoint” a successor without bringing out a cruet, so modern power still carries a faint shine of sacred oil.
Modern Usage
A crude Urban Dictionary usage meaning to spread seminal fluid
Kin & Kindred
From 'in'·in, into, on
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'unguere'·smear, rub with ointment, anoint
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia