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A liquid or semiliquid preparation of a consistence thinner than an ointment, applied to the skin by friction, esp. one used as a sedative or a stimulant.

orange-yellow cucumber-shaped fruit of the size of a walnut, used as a vulnerary, and in liniments and poultices. -- Balsam fir (Bot.), the American coniferous tree, Abies balsamea, from which the useful Canada balsam is derived. -- Balsam of copaiba. See Copaiba. -- Balsam of Mecca, balm of Gilead. -- Balsam of P…

A smearing or rubbing in or on; also, that which is smeared or rubbed on, as ointment or liniment.

A saponaceous, camphorated liniment; a solution of soap in alcohol, with the addition of camphor and essential oils; soap liniment.

Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. "The soft, delicious air." Milton.

and volatile as ever. Swift. Volatile alkali. (Old Chem.) See under Alkali. -- Volatile liniment, a liniment composed of sweet oil and ammonia, so called from the readiness with which the latter evaporates. -- Volatile oils. (Chem.) See Essential oils, under Essential.