the act of washing the body in water, or immersing in or exposing to something liquid or radiant.
From Old English 'bæðian,' related to 'bæth' (bath). The root may connect to Proto-Germanic words meaning 'to warm' or 'to heat.' The '-ing' suffix makes it a present participle.
Bathing's oldest meaning involved warmth and heat—baths were about warming your body. Only later did it become about cleansing, showing how our cultural practices change the meanings of words.
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