Plural of confricamentum; in medieval medicine or alchemy, substances used for rubbing or friction-based application.
From Medieval Latin 'confricamenta,' the plural of 'confricamentum,' derived from 'confricare' (to rub together). These were technical terms in medieval apothecary and medical texts.
Medieval physicians prescribed 'confricamenta' as ointments and salves to be rubbed vigorously into skin—the friction itself was thought to help the medicine penetrate, mixing early chemistry with pure wishful thinking.
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