An archaic or obsolete variant of 'anoint'; to apply oil or ointment ceremonially or medically.
From Old French 'anoinure,' related to 'anoint.' This spelling variant appears in Middle English texts and represents an earlier stage of the word's pronunciation and usage.
Medieval manuscripts show scribes spelling 'anoint' in dozens of ways—'anoine,' 'anointe,' 'anoynten'—before English standardized spelling. Reading old texts is like watching how a word is still learning to spell itself.
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