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

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

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

After a considerable time affusion, or sprinkling, returned, and became the prevailing mode, without any special enactment, or any formal renunciation of the late mode.

From Bertha and Her Baptism by Nehemiah Adams

Although foreshadowed by Currie early in the century by his use of cold affusion in the treatment of scarlet fever, it did not come into general use until the closing decades.

From Beacon Lights of History, Volume 14 The New Era; A Supplementary Volume, by Recent Writers, as Set Forth in the Preface and Table of Contents by John Lord

The first effect of the affusion is often to elevate the temperature—a fact noticed by Currie himself—but the next affusion, practised at the end of an hour, pretty surely brings it down.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Cold affusion, which has also been extolled by modern physicians as a recent improvement in medical practice, we have seen, was also employed centuries ago.

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen