emollient

emollient
emollience, n.
/i mol"yeuhnt/, adj.
1. having the power of softening or relaxing, as a medicinal substance; soothing, esp. to the skin: emollient lotions for the face.
n.
2. an emollient medicine, lotion, salve, etc.
[1635-45; < L emollient- (s. of emolliens) softening up (prp. of emollire), equiv. to e- E- + molli(s) soft + -ent- -ENT]
Syn. 1. relieving, palliative, healing, assuasive.

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      any substance that softens the skin by slowing evaporation of water. Sesame, almond, and olive oils were used in ancient Egypt; beeswax, spermaceti, almond oil, borax, and rosewater in Greece; and lanolin (sheep fat) in medieval Europe. Modern emollients include petrolatum, zinc oxide, paraffin, mineral oil, glycerin, beeswax, olive oil, coconut oil, lanolin, cocoa butter, and such synthetics as butyl stearate and diglycol laurate.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • émollient — émollient, iente [ emɔljɑ̃, jɑ̃t ] adj. • 1549; lat. emolliens, p. prés. de emollire « amollir » ♦ Méd. Qui a pour effet d amollir, de relâcher des tissus enflammés. ⇒ adoucissant. Remède, emplâtre émollient. N. m. Un émollient. ⊗ CONTR.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Emollient — Émollient Voir « Émollient » sur le Wiktionnaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Emollient — E*mol lient (?; 106), a. [L. emolliens, entis, p. pr. of emollire to soften; e out + mollire to soften, mollis soft: cf. F. [ e]mollient. See {Mollify}.] Softening; making supple; acting as an emollient. Emollient applications. Arbuthnot. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • émollient — émollient, ente (é mo li an, an t ) adj. Terme de médecine. Qui a la propriété de relâcher, de ramollir les parties enflammées. Cataplasme émollient.    Terme de pharmacie. Espèces émollientes, les feuilles sèches de mauve, de guimauve, de molène …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • émollient — ÉMOLLIENT, ENTE. adj. Terme de Médecine. Qui amollit. Remède émollient. Emplâtre émollient. [b]f♛/b] Il se prend aussi substantivement. Faire usage des émolliens …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • emollient — (adj.) 1640s, from Fr. émollient (16c.), from L. emollientem (nom. emolliens), prp. of emollire soften, from ex out (see EX (Cf. ex )) + mollire soften, from mollis soft (see MELT (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • emollient — [adj] soothing balsamic, demulcent, healing, lenitive, palliative, relieving, remedial, softening; concepts 7,22,110,384 emollient [n] lotion balm, cream, lenitive, liniment, moisturizer, oil, ointment, salve, soothing agent, unguent; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • emollient — Emollient, [emolli]ente. adj. Terme de medecine. Qui amollit. Remede emollient. emplastre emolliente …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • emollient — ► ADJECTIVE 1) having the quality of softening or soothing the skin. 2) attempting to avoid confrontation or anger; calming. ► NOUN ▪ an emollient substance. DERIVATIVES emollience noun. ORIGIN from Latin emollire make soft …   English terms dictionary

  • emollient — [ē mäl′yənt, ē mäl′ē ənt; imäl′yənt, imäl′ē ənt; ] also [, ēmōl′yənt, ēmōl′ē ənt; imōl′yənt, imōl′ē ənt] adj. [L emolliens, prp. of emollire, to soften < e out + mollire, to soften < mollis, soft: see MILL1] softening; soothing n. something …   English World dictionary

  • Emollient — E*mol lient (?; 105), n. (Med.) An external something or soothing application to allay irritation, soreness, etc. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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