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inoculation

inoculation is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 2 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.(Med.) The act or practice of communicating a disease to a person in health, by inserting contagious matter in his skin or flesh. Note: The use was formerly limited to the intentional communication of the smallpox, but is now extended to include any similar introduction of modified virus; as, the inoculation of rabies by Pasteur.
  2. 2.Fig.: The communication of principles, especially false principles, to the mind.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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