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

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Etymology

Origin of poultice

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

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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

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

Whatever he’s suffering from, thank goodness the Grand Maester was around to reject the maester intern’s herbal poultice in favor of another leeching.

From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2022

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

From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2022

She suggests making a violet leaf infusion or poultice for soothing an eye irritation or injury.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2021

We worked frantically drawing water, washing the burning bodies, and trying every herb, tea, and poultice to break the fever and banish the infection.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From Time Magazine Archive

The foot should now be placed in a warm bath for half an hour or longer and then poulticed.

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

The child—she was scarcely more than that—had hurt herself severely, and instead of keeping her at home, she sent her to the theatre, "poulticed all over," as Rachel expressed it afterwards.

From An Englishman in Paris Notes and Recollections by Albert D.

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

From The Outcaste by F. E. Penny

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

He is in bed now, and his ma is poulticing him, and she says he will be out about the last of next week.

From The Grocery Man And Peck's Bad Boy Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa, No. 2 - 1883 by George W. (George Wilbur) Peck

At last, following the direction of a neighbour, he found her poulticing an old lady, for she was a nurse.

From A Mummer's Tale by Charles E. Roche

Pat ought to be quiet, and I’m no hand at poulticing.

From The Love Affairs of Pixie by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

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