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
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Among the trove were two strigils, blunt hooks that Romans used to clean themselves and wipe off oil while bathing and that athletes used to scrape away sweat.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 13 June 2018
In fact, the strigil was considered the symbol of an athlete in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 13 June 2018
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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
Among the trove were two strigils, blunt hooks that Romans used to clean themselves and wipe off oil while bathing and that athletes used to scrape away sweat.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 13 June 2018
In fact, the strigil was considered the symbol of an athlete in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 13 June 2018
Cite this Entry
“Strigil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strigil. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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