Illustration of strigil
: an instrument used by ancient Greeks and Romans for scraping moisture off the skin after bathing or exercising
Examples of strigil in a Sentence
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How ancient Egyptian cosmetics influenced our beauty rituals Among the other items on show are a strigil (skin scraper), perfume bottles, jet and bone jewelery, make-up applicators and amulets for warding off evil.
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Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 8 June 2023
Another holds a sponge for oils and a strigil, an instrument for scraping oil and sweat from the body.
—Tom Mashberg, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023
Instead, the Romans’ post-bath ritual involved anointing the body with oils and scraping excess grease away with a metal or reed tool known as a strigil.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2020
As the study notes, the site also yielded two pairs of shoes; fragments of glass vessels; a bronze coin dated to between 198 and 217 A.D.; and a strigil, or curved blade used to scrape oil and dirt off one’s skin.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, 1 Oct. 2019
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Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 8 June 2023
Another holds a sponge for oils and a strigil, an instrument for scraping oil and sweat from the body.
—Tom Mashberg, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023
Instead, the Romans’ post-bath ritual involved anointing the body with oils and scraping excess grease away with a metal or reed tool known as a strigil.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Aug. 2020
As the study notes, the site also yielded two pairs of shoes; fragments of glass vessels; a bronze coin dated to between 198 and 217 A.D.; and a strigil, or curved blade used to scrape oil and dirt off one’s skin.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, 1 Oct. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Strigil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strigil. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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