variolation

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English variola Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English variolation From variola + -ation.

1. The inoculation of a person with smallpox with the intention of inducing a mild form of the illness and subsequent immunity to the disease.

   “Variolation is no longer used today. It was replaced by smallpox vaccination, a safer alternative, which in turn led to the development of vaccines against many other diseases.”

   “To accomplish this, variolation—the use of the smallpox virus—was introduced into military conscription. The practice of variolation that was later routinized in the Qing dynasty was basically a form of vaccination against smallpox.”