The quality of being softening or soothing; the capacity to soften or ease discomfort.
From Latin 'emollire' (to soften) plus the suffix '-ence' (a quality or state). This philosophical term describes the property of softening.
Emollience is the quality that makes an emollient work—it's not the thing itself but the power it has to soothe, making it a word for describing soothing properties abstractly.
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