affusion

American  

[uh-fyoo-zhuhn] / əˈfju ʒən /

noun

1. the pouring on of water or other liquid, as in the rite of baptism.

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affusion British  

/ əˈfjuːʒən /

noun

1. the baptizing of a person by pouring water onto his head Compare aspersion immersion

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Other Word Forms

• superaffusion
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of affusion

1605–15; < Late Latin affūsiōn- (stem of affūsiō a pouring upon), equivalent to affūs ( us ) (past participle of affundere; see af-, fuse ²) + -iōn- -ion

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affusion

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, practices baptism via affusion, or water poured over the head, a tradition that proved handy over the years in places that had little access to bodies of water.

From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2015

It would be an extreme case which would lead me to administer the ordinance in any other way than by affusion.

From Bertha and Her Baptism by Nehemiah Adams

In the interval cold affusion was resorted to by the attendant in charge, but the patient was to all appearances dead.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 470, January 3, 1885 by Various

Affusion, af-fū′zhun, n. the act of pouring upon or sprinkling.—Baptism by affusion is effected by the pouring of water on the subject, as distinct from baptism by dipping, or baptism by sprinkling.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

The third kind of bathing is that of the shower-bath, which provides a greater amount of affusion than the former, combined with a greater shock to the nervous system.

From A Treatise on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene (Revised Edition) by Calvin Cutter

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