Definition 1: The act of rubbing a part of the body with liniment or lotion.
Definition 1: The act of rubbing a part of the body with liniment or lotion.
[@more@]Usage 2: An embrocation would have to be a champagne of lotions, not an ordinary one.
Suggested usage: Let's say the topic of conversation is golf, yard work, or some other physical activity and someone says, "My muscles were so sore I had to rub them down afterwards." Establish your place (if not dominance) in the conversation by replying, "And what sort of embrocation did you apply to that lithe body of yours?" Guaranteed to change everyone's attitude toward you immediately.
Etymology: This is obviously a borrowing from French. French picked it up from Late Latin embrocare "to rub with lotion". The Romans got it from the Greek embroche "lotion", from en- "in(to)" + brechein "to wet".