a downy material obtained from various plants and used in Oriental medicine by being burned on the skin as a cauterizing agent or counterirritant for the skin
2.
any of various plants yielding this material, such as the wormwood Artemisia chinensis
Word origin
C17: anglicized version of Japanese mogusa, contraction of moe gusa burning herb
moxa in American English
(ˈmɑksə)
noun
a soft, downy material, burned on the skin as a cauterizing agent or counterirritant, esp.in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine
Word origin
altered < Jpn mogusa, a caustic < moe kusa, burning herb