embalm

1. (transitive) To treat a corpse with preservatives in order to prevent decomposition.Examples: "And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father."; "`Yea. The people of Kôr ever embalmed their dead, as did the Egyptians, but their art was greater than the art of the Egyptians, for, whereas the Egyptians disembowelled and drew the brain, the people of Kôr injected fluid into the veins, and thus reached every part.'"transitive

2. (transitive, figurative) To preserve.Examples: "It is very curious to observe how the idea of revenge, inspired by an Egyptian who lived before the time of Christ, is thus, as it were, embalmed in an English family name."figurativelytransitive

3. (transitive) To perfume or add fragrance to something.transitive