Massage

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

massage
    n 1: kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase
         circulation and promote relaxation
    v 1: manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal
         or relaxation purposes; "She rubbed down her child with a
         sponge" [syn: {massage}, {rub down}, {knead}]
    2: give a massage to; "She massaged his sore back"

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Massage \Mas"sage\, n. [F.]
   A rubbing or kneading of the body, especially when performed
   as a hygienic or remedial measure.
   [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Massage \Mas"sage\, v. t. (Med.)
   To treat by means of massage; to rub or knead; as, to massage
   a patient with ointment.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

massage
 vt.

   [common] Vague term used to describe `smooth' transformations of a
   data set into a different form, esp. transformations that do not lose
   information. Connotes less pain than {munch} or {crunch}. "He wrote a
   program that massages X bitmap files into GIF format." Compare
   {slurp}.

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

massage

   Vague term used to describe "smooth" transformations of a data
   set into a different form, especially transformations that do
   not lose information.  Connotes less pain than {munch} or
   {crunch}.  "He wrote a program that massages {X bitmap} files
   into {GIF} format."  Compare {slurp}.

   [{Jargon File}]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

73 Moby Thesaurus words for "massage":
      bandage, bathe, care for, caress, cure, cushion, diagnose, doctor,
      ease, facial, facial massage, feel up, fiddle, finagle, fluff,
      flux, fondle, frictionize, gentle, give care to, handle, heal,
      knead, kneading, laxate, limber, limber up, loosen, manipulate,
      manipulation, mash, massaging, massotherapy, mellow, milden,
      minister to, mollify, nose, nurse, nuzzle, operate on, palpate,
      pet, physic, plaster, plump, poultice, pulp, purge, relax, remedy,
      rub, rub against, rub down, rub noses, rubdown, shake up, smash,
      soften, soften up, splint, squash, strap, stroke, stroking, subdue,
      supple, tenderize, tone down, treat, tune down, vibrator,
      whirlpool bath