a prefix, occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, meaning âbefore, in front of,â âprior to, in advance of,â âsurpassingâ (predict; preeminent; preface; premaxilla); in English, esp. productive in forming verbs that specify an activity taking place before or instead of the usual occurrence of the same activity (preboard; precook; prepay), or in ...
1: a washing or soaking (as in water) of all or part of the bodyâsee mud bath, sitz bath. 2a: water used for bathingb (1): a medium for regulating the temperature of something placed in or on it (2): a vessel containing this medium.
Bathing is the washing of the body with a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.