moxa
Americannoun
-
a flammable substance or material obtained from the leaves of certain Chinese and Japanese wormwood plants, especially Artemisia moxa.
-
this substance or a similar one of cotton, wool, or the like, placed on the skin usually in the form of a cone or cylinder and ignited for use as a counterirritant.
noun
-
a downy material obtained from various plants and used in Oriental medicine by being burned on the skin as a cauterizing agent or counterirritant for the skin
-
any of various plants yielding this material, such as the wormwood Artemisia chinensis
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of moxa
1670–80; by uncertain mediation < Japanese mogusa, equivalent to mo ( y ) e burn + -gusa, combining form of kusa herb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Baron Larrey, one of the most eminent surgeons of the time, thought the moxa one of the best aids that he had in the treatment of many affections where the knife was not indicated.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
He insisted that the moxa could be placed on almost any part of the body, though the contra indications he suggests show how far the men of his time went with its use.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
The moxa is a great therapeutic agent in the Far East.
From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by Scott, J.W. Robertson
The moxa, then, is the rod in pickle in "The Garden where Virtues are Cultivated."
From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by Scott, J.W. Robertson
In asthma he was particularly successful with the moxa.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Our doctor, my chum, or I will come and apply moxas.
From Father Goriot by Marriage, Ellen
Her nervous crises, beginning with sobs, ended in floods of tears; and every kind of remedy, from diet-drinks to moxas, had been employed, so that, through sheer weariness, she accepted Bouvard's offer to cure her.
From Bouvard and Pécuchet A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life by Flaubert, Gustave
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
