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Webster 1913 Edition

(ăkˊū̍-pŭṉk′tū̍r or ăk′ū̍-pŭṉkˊchū̍r)

Noun.

[L.

acus

needle +

punctura

a pricking, fr.

pungere

to prick: cf. F.

acuponcture

Pricking with a needle; a needle prick.

Specifically

(Med.)

The insertion of needles into the living tissues for remedial purposes, such as to relieve pain. It was first recorded as being practised in

China

, and the technique is believed to be over 2,000 years old.

Verb.

To treat with acupuncture.

Noun.

[L. acus, needle, and punctura, or punctus, a pricking.]

Among the Chinese, a surgical operation, performed by pricking the part affected with a needle, as in head-aches and lethargies.