poultice

American  

[pohl-tis] / ˈpoʊl tɪs /

noun

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

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verb (used with object)

poulticed, poulticing

1. to apply a poultice to.

poultice British  

/ ˈpəʊltɪs /

noun

1. Also called: cataplasm.  med a local moist and often heated application for the skin consisting of substances such as kaolin, linseed, or mustard, used to improve the circulation, treat inflamed areas, etc

2. slang a large sum of money, esp a debt

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Other Word Forms

• unpoulticed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of poultice

1535–45; earlier pultes, plural (taken as singular) of Latin puls (stem pult- ) thick pap. See pulse ²

Explanation

The next time you have a cut or an infection, maybe you should put some cereal on it. A poultice is a soft material — often cereal-like — used for healing. Think of a poultice as a mushy, sticky bandage. If you have a wound, infection, rash, or inflammation, you will probably cover it with a bandage or apply medicine to it: a poultice may accomplish both at once. Used in many cultures, a poultice may be mixed with medicine or heated. It can be made of clay, porridge, or even bread! Not surprisingly, the word poultice can be traced to the Latin route puls, meaning “porridge” or "a warm cereal.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poultice poulticed poulticing

I was a middle-class kid from New Jersey, but like a poultice, this ancient, colonized country drew out an answering difference from my bones.

From Salon ● May 27, 2024

Dampen the stone, apply the poultice a half-inch thick, then cover it with plastic and tape down the edges.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022

In that case, Forguson recommends applying a broad-spectrum poultice.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2022

Benrejdal later returned and applied a make-shift poultice of takeaway leftovers to the arm.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2017

The poultice felt cool and soothing as she eased it over the hot, tight skin.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

With great technical brilliance, they poulticed inflamed crises again & again with the salve of compromise.

From Time Magazine Archive

The sting was poulticed later by inviting the defendant to attend Texas City's fair next week.

From Time Magazine Archive

The limbs may be poulticed above the fetlocks with mustard.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.

He is poulticed with beef and bread and admonished with the wise sayings of the three Williams continuously.

From The Outcaste by Penny, F. E.

The foot is now to be poulticed for a day or two, or until the lameness and suppuration have ceased.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.

I don’t possess the patience for 10 days of poulticing the patio, so I turned to Iron Out, a plant-safe liquid containing oxalic acid.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022

If the New Deal party could be cured of its sickness through adroit poulticing, Jimmy Byrnes was the ideal physician.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cauliflower Growths.—These begin like warts, and in the earlier stages poulticing and soaking with weak acid almost invariably cure.

From Papers on Health by Kirk, Edward Bruce

When a bunion is forming it may be stopped by poulticing and carefully opening it with a lancet.

From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Burroughs, Barkham

When poulticing fails to reduce the swelling or produce softening, the inflamed area may be rubbed once daily with camphorated oil, compound iodin ointment, or painted twice daily with Lugol's solution of iodin.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry