Meanings
plural moxibustions
- countableuncountablefolk medicineThe burning of moxa against the skin to treat pain or illness.
Traditional Chinese medicine includes herbal remedy, diet therapy, use of animal secretion and organs, acupuncture, massage, moxibustion (the application of a burning moxa plant to skin), and other folk methods.
1998, Lin Zhan, edited by Lin Zhan, Asian Voices: Asian and Asian-American Health Educators Speak Out, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, Xi Young Hong: Health Practice in Chinese Older Women, page 36
Origin
Blend of moxa (“mugwort”) + combustion, literally “burning of mugwort”, with the connecting -i- usual in Latinate vocabulary.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 艾灸, 灸
- 艾灸burning of moxa against skin
- 灸 (jiǔ)burning of moxa against skin
Finnish moksibustio, moksaus
- moksibustioburning of moxa against skin
- moksausburning of moxa against skin
French moxibustion
- moxibustionburning of moxa against skin
German Moxibustion
- Moxibustionburning of moxa against skin
Greek καυτηριασμός με μόξα
- καυτηριασμός με μόξα (kaftiriasmós me móxa)burning of moxa against skin
Italian moxibustione
- moxibustioneburning of moxa against skin
Japanese 灸, お灸
- 灸burning of moxa against skin
- お灸 (okyuu)burning of moxa against skin
Korean 뜸
- 뜸 (tteum)burning of moxa against skin
Polish termopunktura
- termopunkturaburning of moxa against skin
Portuguese moxibustão
- moxibustãoburning of moxa against skin
Russian прижига́ние
- прижига́ние (prižigánije)burning of moxa against skin
Spanish moxibustión
- moxibustiónburning of moxa against skin
Swedish moxibustion
- moxibustionburning of moxa against skin
Cite this entry
moxibustion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moxibustion
“moxibustion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moxibustion. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moxibustion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moxibustion.
Source: moxibustion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.