Anointed

How to spell anointed

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce anointed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does anointed mean?

1. verbSmeared or rubbed with oil or a similar substance, often as part of a religious or ceremonial act.
2. adjectiveFormally chosen or set apart for a special role, as if consecrated for it.

Anointed in a sentence

• verb

  The archbishop anointed the new monarch with holy oil during the coronation.

• adjective

  The retiring chief executive treated his deputy as the anointed successor.

• verb

  The nurse gently anointed the patient's dry skin with a soothing balm.

• adjective

  Critics dismissed her as the party's anointed candidate, picked long before any vote.

Where does anointed come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came into English in the 1300s from the Old French enoint, the past participle of the verb enoindre, meaning 'to smear on'. That French verb traces back to the Latin inunguere, formed from in, meaning 'on' or 'upon', and unguere, meaning 'to smear or rub with oil or ointment'. The same Latin unguere also gives us the everyday words 'ointment' and 'unguent', so the link between anointing and oily salves is no accident. In its earliest English use the act was strongly religious: oil was applied to the body of a monarch or a priest as a sign of consecration, which is why the word still carries an air of solemn appointment. A useful spelling clue is that the prefix is the single-n 'an-', not a doubled 'ann-', because the n belongs to 'in' becoming 'an' before the smooth oint of unguere.

How the word is built

• an- (from Latin in-, 'on, upon')
• oint (root from Latin unguere, 'to smear or rub with oil')
• -ed (past-tense / participle suffix)