I was with a group of friends yesterday and one of them mentioned she had a rash on her arm. I said “You better put a salve on that.” A couple of young people in the group looked puzzled and said they weren’t familiar with the word. An older person said that he hadn’t hard the word “salve” in twenty years, that nowadays it was called “ointment.” Is this true? Has “salve” become an obsolete word?
I know of the word, for sure, but I can’t say if I’ve ever actually heard anyone actually use it in casual conversation. It sounds like something Mr. Burns or Grandpa Simpson would say.
I use antibacterial ointment for wounds, because salve isn’t on the shelves anymore. Salve was for wounds anyhow not rashes. Watkins Petro Carbo Drawing Salve It did draw out slivers pretty good.
I’m familiar with the word and know what it means, but it’s one of those “book words” nobody actually says. At least not that I can recall.
I prefer unguent (ff to 1:00).
Our househole, old geezers, always say “ungent”. Don’t know why.
I prefer poultice.
Seriously, no one uses salve anymore.
Why not a balm?
My grandma used the word salve, but only attached to Vicks, and she said it funny.
Vixave. I didn’t realize until I was an adult that Vicks Vapor Rub was the same as Vixave.
I think of a salve as being intermediate between an ointment and a lotion.
And when you do say the word “salve,” do you pronounce the “L”? I’ve rarely heard it pronounced.
TBH, the only reason I know the meaning of “salve” is through reading some role-playing game source-books. I use balm more often, as my mum introduced me to Tiger’s Balm at a very young age.
No. It is “sav”, with a short “a”.
I definitely use ointment because I love the way the word sounds. That “oint” at the beginning is just so cool.
And because nobody uses “salve” anymore.
Athena–does that link go to a clip from Fargo? I can’t access it at work. Unguent. Heh.
ETA–Neosporin ointment with pain relief is a gift from the gods. I use it for anything and everything–especially shutting my kid up when he’s whining about some little hurty spot. “Here’s some pain relief ointment, kid.” Works every time. 
You bet!
“Unguent! I neeeed unguent!”
I’d say just use a liniment.
Not only do I use them, I make them!
A salve, in my herbal world, is an oil and wax based preparation that you rub onto the skin. Herbs are either infused into the oil during heating (before you add the wax to stiffen it) or essential oils are added at the end, after the wax, or both.
A lotion can be made of the same oil/herb base without wax, and it’s whipped (or blended in a blender) with water to make a soft emulsion. Lotions’ emulsions are tricky to get right, even for experienced medicine makers.
An ointment is also oil based, but it’s not stiffened with wax or mixed with water.
A liniment is generally an alcohol based preparation, not oily, and usually smelly as all get out. It’s thin, and has a cooling sensation due to the evaporation of the alcohol.
In the SFG’s Brain Distinction, an ointment has some sort of official medicinal value (e.g., an antibiotic ointment like neosporin), while a salve is something prepared from “natural” ingredients (through not necessarily ineffectual–e.g., fresh aloe).
Language changes all the time, yesterday’s common word is today’s forgotten word.
I was at a bus stop 10 years ago and a bunch of middle school kids were horsing around. A little old lady leans over, and whispers to me: “Hooligans.”
To my knowledge, “salve” is still a fairly common word in my neck of the woods. Of course, given how much talking I don’t do with people in general, I could be in for a shock.
I know I never hear the word “ointment” anymore, nor certainly “poultice”. I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I think the word I use most is “Neosporin”. It’s just the word that first comes to mind, even if it’s not perfect for that specific application (like a rash). The other most common word is probably “stuff” (ie. “you should put some stuff on that.”).