English

extreme unction

From extreme (“to limit, final”) + unction (“anointing”).

A compound of extreme ‘to limit, final’ + unction ‘anointing’

Proto-Italic *eksterisemos

Latin extrēmus ‘farthest’

Old French extreme

Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- ‘anoint’

Proto-Italic *ongʷō ‘to anoint’

Latin ungō ‘to anoint, smear with oil, grease’

Latin unctiō ‘anointing’

Today it means

noun The Catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / extreme unction