onsenn.
/ˈɒnsɛn/, U.S. /ˈɔnˌsɛn/, /ˈɑnˌsɛn/ In Japan: a hot spring, esp. one thought to have medicinal properties; a hot spring resort.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments using water > [noun] > taking medicinal waters > a medicinal spring
bath864
baina1552
spring1567
spa1626
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onsen1896
1795 C. R. Hopson tr. C. P. Thunberg Trav. (ed. 2) III. 2/2 Bath, warm bath,..unsing.]
1896 W. Weston Mountaineering in Japanese Alps viii. 143 After a day's rest in the romantic surroundings of the Onsen, I started in the small hours of the morning for the summit of the ‘Dragon Peak’.
1909 A. Lloyd Every-day Japan 8 The onsen, or hot-water springs, are distributed more widely than the active volcanoes.
1959 R. Kirkbride Tamiko xv. 118 At the Onsen he asked for Richi.
1990 New Scientist 17 Feb. 58/3 The opposition comes from the owners of Japan's 2189 commercial spa baths, known as onsen (hot springs).
2003 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 19 Oct. 16 At the country's onsen, when you step into a tub the water displaced by your body cascades over the sides.
2017 Fukuoka Now (Electronic ed.) 2 Mar. They have started a new onsen initiative called ‘baspo’... The basic plan (¥980/month) allows users to go to three onsen a month for free.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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