cataplasm

From Latin cataplasma, from Ancient Greek κατάπλασμα (katáplasma).

cataplasm (plural cataplasms)

1. (medicine) A poultice or plaster, spread over one's skin as medical treatment.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 3, subsection ii:

     Aretæus prescribes cataplasms of camomile flowers, fennel, aniseeds, cummin, rosemary, wormwood leaves, etc.

   • 1837, Thomas Green Fessenden; James Engelbert Teschemacher; Joseph Breck, The Horticultural Register and Gardener's Magazine, volume 3, page 332:

     For medical purposes, figs are chiefly used in emollient cataplasms, and pectorial decoctions.

• poultice

• medterms