The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Massage \Mas"sage\, n. [F.]
   A rubbing or kneading of the body, especially when performed
   as a hygienic or remedial measure.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Massage \Mas"sage\, v. t. (Med.)
   To treat by means of massage; to rub or knead; as, to massage
   a patient with ointment.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

massage
    n 1: kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase
         circulation and promote relaxation
    v 1: manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal
         or relaxation purposes; "She rubbed down her child with a
         sponge" [syn: massage, rub down, knead]
    2: give a massage to; "She massaged his sore back"

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

massage

   Vague term used to describe "smooth" transformations of a data
   set into a different form, especially transformations that do
   not lose information.  Connotes less pain than munch or
   crunch.  "He wrote a program that massages X bitmap files
   into GIF format."  Compare slurp.

   [Jargon File]


The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

massage
 vt.

    [common] Vague term used to describe ‘smooth’ transformations of a data set
    into a different form, esp. transformations that do not lose information.
    Connotes less pain than munch or crunch. “He wrote a program that
    massages X bitmap files into GIF format.” Compare slurp.