Massagist

[muh-sahzh, -sahj or, esp. British, mas-ahzh] /məˈsɑʒ, -ˈsɑdʒ or, esp. British, ˈmæs ɑʒ/

noun
1.
the act or art of treating the body by rubbing, kneading, patting, or the like, to stimulate circulation, increase suppleness, relieve tension, etc.
2.
Slang. attentive or indulgent treatment; pampering:
ego massage.
verb (used with object), massaged, massaging.
3.
to treat by massage.
4.
Slang. to treat with special care and attention; coddle or pamper:
The store massages its regular customers with gifts and private sales.
5.
Informal.

/ˈmæsɑːʒ; -sɑːdʒ/
noun
1.
the act of kneading, rubbing, etc, parts of the body to promote circulation, suppleness, or relaxation
verb (transitive)
2.
to give a massage to
3.
to treat (stiffness, aches, etc) by a massage
4.
to manipulate (statistics, data, etc) so that they appear to support a particular interpretation or to be better than they are; doctor
5.
massage someone’s ego, to boost someone’s sense of self-esteem by flattery
n.

1874, from French massage “friction of kneading,” from masser “to massage,” possibly from Arabic massa “to touch, feel, handle;” if so, probably picked up in Egypt during the Napoleonic campaign there. Other possibility is that French got it in colonial India from Portuguese amassar “knead,” a verb from Latin massa “mass, dough” (see mass (n.1)). Massage parlor first attested 1894, from the start a euphemism for “house of prostitution.”
v.

1874, from massage (n.). Related: Massaged; massaging.

massage mas·sage (mə-säzh’ -säj’)
n.
The rubbing or kneading of parts of the body for therapeutic purposes. v. mas·saged, mas·sag·ing, mas·sag·es

verb