massage · noun — the action of rubbing, kneading or hitting someone's body, to help the person relax, prepare for muscular action (as in contact sports) or to relieve aches.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
massage is pronounced /ˈmæsɑː(d)ʒ/.
Etymology
From French massage (noun), from masser (“to massage”) (borrowed around the end of the 18th century from Arabic مَسَّ (massa, “feel, touch”), or from Portuguese amassar) + -age. Cognate to German massieren.
noun
- The action of rubbing, kneading or hitting someone's body, to help the person relax, prepare for muscular action (as in contact sports) or to relieve aches.e.g.“Having a massage can have many beneficial effects.”
- The action of rubbing or kneading anything.e.g.“The baker gave the dough one final massage.”
verb
- To rub and knead (someone's body or body part), to perform a massage on (somebody).e.g.“My neck doesn't hurt as much as it did last night since my wife massaged me after I got back from the concert.”
- To rub or knead anything.e.g.“Massage the kale to soften it before making the salad.”
- To manipulate (data, a document etc.) to make it more presentable or more convenient to work with.e.g.“News relating to public disturbances was systematically massaged [...].” — 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 118:
- To falsify (data or accounts).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).