Monday, December 23, 2013

poultice

poultice \POHL-tis\, noun:

1. a soft, moist mass of cloth, bread, meal, herbs, etc., applied hot as a medicament to the body.

verb:
1. to apply a poultice to.

...he did not notice whether I was going to spike him or put on a poultice.
-- David Rattlehead, The Life and Adventures of an Arkansaw Doctor, 1851
"...I thought I could nurse her; I did my best. Was the poultice all right?"
-- George Moore, Spring Days: A Realistic Novel, 1888

Poultice came to English in the 1500s from the Latin puls meaning "porridge."

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