malaxation

Meanings

1. The act of softening a mass by malaxating.
2. A kneading or softening, especially the chewing and squeezing by which certain species of hunting wasps prepare captured prey as food for their larvae.
3. The process of slowly churning milled oil crops such as olives, allowing droplets of oil to aggregate for more effective separation.
4. In massage, a kneading technique, particularly used for softening muscle in spasm.
5. The kneading and squeezing of ingredients into a mass for making pills and plasters.

Etymology

From Latin malaxātiō.