maceration (maser ash on)

[F. macéra tion = Sp. macer a cion = Pg. macer ação = It. macer azione, ... The faith itself retain eth the use of fastings, abstinences, and other macerations and humiliations of the body, as things real, and not figurative. Bacon , Advancement of Learning, ii. 185. For about two centuries the hideous maceration of the body was regarded as the highest proof of excellence. Lecky, European Morals, III. 114.