unctuous
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Late Middle English unctuous [and other forms], borrowed from Medieval Latin ūnctuōsus (“greasy, oily, unctuous”), from Latin ūnctum (“ointment; rich banquet; rich savoury dish”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly’ forming adjectives from nouns). Ūnctum is a noun use of the perfect passive participle of unguō (“to anoint; to smear with oil, to grease or oil”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to anoint; to smear”).
Cognates
* Italian untuoso
* Old French onctües, unctueus, unctuose (modern French onctueux)
* Portuguese unctuoso
* Spanish untuoso
Inflected forms:
form: more unctuous
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most unctuous
pos: adj
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Having the nature or properties of an unguent or ointment; greasy, oily.
pos: adj
examples: It is, of the one part, / A humide exhalation, vvhich vve call / Materia liquida, or the Vnctuous VVater; […]
[H]e ſeveral time obſerved, that cutting a Cheeſe in tvvo, vvhen they vvere any thing near the Equinoctial, that moſt part of it vvould be very dry and brittle, and ſeem'd as if it vvere ſpoil'd: VVhereas the Parts about the middle vvere ſo fat and ſoft, as if all the unctuous Parts that vvere vvanting in the dried Portion of the Cheeſe had retired thither, and vvas betvveen Cream and Cheeſe.
This tongue [of the pangolin] is round, extremely red, and covered vvith an unctuous and ſlimy liquor, vvhich gives it a ſhining hue. VVhen the pangolin, therefore, approaches an ant-hill, for theſe are the inſects on vvhich it chiefly feeds, it lies dovvn near it, concealing as much as poſſible the place of its retreat, and ſtretching out its long tongue among the ants, keeps it for ſome time quite immovable. Theſe little animals, allured by its appearance, and the unctuous ſubſtance vvith vvhich it is ſmeared, inſtantly gather upon it in great numbers; and vvhen the pangolin ſuppoſes a ſufficiency, it quickly vvithdravvs the tongue, and ſvvallovvs them at once.
And unctuous meteors from spray to spray / Crept and flitted in broad noon-day / Unseen; […]
[H]e took off the lid of the iron pot and there rushed out a savoury smell, while the bubbling sound grew deeper and more rich, and an unctuous steam came floating out, hanging in a delicious mist above their heads— […]
Dropping his spade, he thrust both hands in, and drew out handfuls of something that looked like ripe Windsor soap, or rich mottled old cheese; very unctuous and savory withal. You might easily dent it with your thumb; it is of a hue between yellow and ash color. And this, good friends, is ambergris, worth a gold guinea an ounce to any druggist.
In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
The kitchen is a lofty, spacious, and noble room, partitioned off round the fireplace, […] on either side of which is the omnipresent image of the Bear and Ragged Staff, three feet high, and excellently carved in oak, now black with time and unctuous kitchen-smoke.
gloss: Having fat or oil present; fatty, greasy, oily.
pos: adj
examples: Meates fatte and vnctuouſe, nouryſheth, and maketh ſoluble.
I my ſelfe vvill haue / The beards of Barbels, ſeru'd, in ſtead of ſallades; / Oyld Muſhromes; and the ſvvelling vnctuous papps / Of a fat pregnant Sovv, nevvly cut off, / Dreſt vvith an exquiſite, and poynant ſauce; […]
[H]ow can these men not be corrupt, […] warming their Palace Kitchins, and from thence their unctuous, and epicurean paunches, with the almes of the blind, the lame, the impotent, the aged, the orfan, the widow, […]
And Pallas rear'd him; her ovvn unctuous fane / She made his habitation, vvhere vvith bulls / The youth of Athens, and vvith ſlaughter'd lambs / Her annual vvorſhip celebrate.
There was something in the sound of the last word, which roused the unctuous boy. He jumped up: and the leaden eyes, which twinkled behind his mountainous cheeks, leered horribly upon the food as he unpacked it from the basket.
High and low, they [English day-laborers] are of an unctuous texture. There is an adipocere in their constitution, as if they had oil for their mental wheels, and could perform vast amounts of work without damaging themselves.
gloss: Of an aroma or taste, or a beverage (such as coffee or wine) or food (such as gravy, meat, or sauce): having layers of concentrated, velvety flavour; lush, rich.
pos: adj
examples: Again, Taſts may properly be ſaid, to be Soft or Hard. A Soft Taſte, is either Vapid, as in VVatery Bodies, VVhites of Eggs, Starch, Fine Boles, &c. Or Unctuous, as in Oyls, Fat, &c. […] Contrary to an Unctuous Taſte, are Aſtringent, and Pungent; as in Galls, and Spirit of Sal Aromanick.
The halls and passages of the castle were already permeated with rich and unctuous smells, and a delicate nose might have picked out and arranged, by their finer or coarser vapors, the dishes preparing for the upper and lower tables.
"Unctuous is probably quite a good description, but there's a sweetness, too, and a mouthfeel," ventures Heston Blumenthal, chef at the Fat Duck at Bray.
gloss: Of soil: soft and sticky.
pos: adj
examples: Furthermore, good and excellent Earth ſhould be of the ſame conſtitution, and not of contrary, as ſoft and hard; churliſh and mild; moiſt and dry; not too unctuous nor too lean, but reſoluble, and of a juſt and procreative temper, combining into a light, and eaſily crumbling Mould; […]
Chalk is of tvvo Sorts, the hard dry ſtrong Chalk, vvhich is the beſt for Lime; and a ſoft unctuous Chalk, vvhich is the beſt for Lands, becauſe it eaſily diſſolves vvith Rain and Froſt.
Sometimes they kill ſome game, ſometimes they catch fiſh, but in ſuch ſmall quantities, that their hunger is ſo extreme as compels them to eat ſpiders, the eggs of ants, vvorms, lizards, ſerpents, a kind of unctuous earth, and I am perſuaded, that if in this country there vvere any ſtones, they vvould ſvvallovv theſe.
What a hardy plant was [William] Shakespeare's genius, how fatal its development, since it could not be blighted in such an atmosphere! It only brought human nature the closer to him, and put more unctuous earth about his roots.
gloss: Of a person:
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
gloss: Of a person:
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
examples: "No bankers' books, or cheque books, or bill, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?" said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words.
Then he thoroughly disliked the tone of Mr. Slope's letter; it was unctuous, false, and unwholesome, like the man.
In superior circles, however, introduction becomes more elaborate, more flattering, more unctuous.
General Peckem roused himself after a moment with an unctuous and benignant smile.
Synonyms: adipose
butyraceous
fatty
greasy
lardaceous
oily
oleaginous
pinguid
saponaceous
sebaceous
soapy
unctuous
unguinous
waxy
Related words: inunction
unct
unction
unctional
unctionless
unctious
unctiousness
unctuose
unctuosity
unguent
unguentarian
unguentarium
unguentary
unguentiferous
unguentous
unguenty
unguinous
fat
Derived words: unctuously
unctuousness
ununctuous
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: օծ
roman: ōc
lang: Bulgarian
word: мазен
roman: mazen
lang: Catalan
word: untuós
lang: Catalan
word: greixós
lang: Czech
word: mastný
lang: Czech
word: krémový
lang: Dutch
word: olieachtig
lang: Dutch
word: vettig
lang: Finnish
word: öljyinen
lang: Finnish
word: lipevä
lang: French
word: onctueux
lang: Georgian
word: ზეთოვანი
roman: zetovani
lang: German
word: ölig
lang: German
word: schmierig
lang: Greek
word: λιπαρός
roman: liparós
lang: Ancient Greek
word: λῐπᾰρός
roman: lĭpărós
lang: Hebrew
word: שַׁמְנוּנִי
roman: shamnuní
lang: Irish
word: ungthach
lang: Italian
word: untuoso
lang: Italian
word: grasso
lang: Macedonian
word: ма́слен
roman: máslen
lang: Macedonian
word: ма́стен
roman: másten
lang: Marathi
word: चिकण
roman: cikaṇ
lang: Polish
word: oleisty
lang: Polish
word: tłusty
lang: Portuguese
word: untuoso
lang: Romanian
word: onctuos
lang: Romanian
word: slinos
lang: Russian
word: масляни́стый
roman: masljanístyj
lang: Russian
word: жи́рный
roman: žírnyj
lang: Sanskrit
word: चिक्कण
roman: cikkaṇa
lang: Spanish
word: untuoso
lang: Ukrainian
word: ма́сляний
roman: másljanyj
lang: Ukrainian
word: масни́й
roman: masnýj
lang: Bulgarian
word: мазен
roman: mazen
lang: Bulgarian
word: угоднически
roman: ugodničeski
lang: Chinese
word: 假空假死
roman: ké-khang-ké-sí
lang: Chinese
word: 假空假榫
roman: ké-khang-ké-sún, ké-khang-ké-sńg, kée-khang-kée-sún
lang: Chinese
word: 假空假氣 /假空假气
roman: ké-khang-ké-khùi
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 假惺惺
roman: jiǎxīngxīng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 惺惺
roman: xīngxīng
lang: Czech
word: úlisný
lang: Czech
word: slizký
lang: Czech
word: vtíravý
lang: Dutch
word: vleierig
lang: Dutch
word: zalvend
lang: Finnish
word: lipevä
lang: Finnish
word: liukas
lang: Finnish
word: mairea
lang: French
word: patelin
lang: French
word: doucereux
lang: French
word: mielleux
lang: German
word: schmierig
lang: Ingrian
word: lippiä
lang: Italian
word: strisciante
lang: Japanese
word: 慇懃無礼
lang: Macedonian
word: ли́гав
roman: lígav
lang: Polish
word: obłudny
lang: Portuguese
word: melífluo
lang: Spanish
word: untuoso
lang: Vietnamese
word: ngọt xớt