Pharmacy. [ad. L. lēvigātiōn-em, n. of action f. lēvigāre.] The action of LEVIGATE v.; ‘the trituration or rubbing down of a substance in a mortar or on a slab, with sufficient moisture to make it soft’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.).
1471. Ripley, Comp. Alch., I. in Ashm. (1652), 133. Then of thy Water make Ayre by Levygacyon.
1612. Woodall, Surg. Mate, Wks. (1653), 272. Levigation is the reduction of any hard and ponderous matter by comminution, and diligent contusion into fine powder, like Alcool.
1718. Quincy, Compl. Disp., 11. Either by the Mortar, or by Levigation upon a Marble.
1833. J. Holland, Manuf. Metal, II. x. 246. The most ancient mills were undoubtedly those in which the method of levigation was rudely employed.
1879. Rutley, Stud. Rocks, viii. 73. In such crude examinations levigation may occasionally be advantageous.
1885. W. Roberts, Urin. Dis., II. iii. (ed. 4), 325. They were easily separated from the urine by levigation and decantation.
