plunge bath

English

Grabill - Hot Springs, interior view of largest plunge bath house in US

Noun

plunge bath (plural plunge baths)

1. A tub or pool large enough to immerse the entire body.
   • 1890, Robert Owen Allsop, The Turkish Bath: Its Design and Construction, page 41:

     In elaborate baths they may, for the sake of effect, be distinct apartments, while, where strict economy must be studied, they may be comprised in one room ; and where, again, space is extremely valuable, the plunge bath and douche may be also included.

   • 2001, Andrew Birley, Vindolanda's military bath houses:

     The Physical Remains Due to the extensive demolition of this part of the structure almost nothing now remains above the fumace to the east of the caldarium, where the plunge bath must have stood.

   • 2015, Neil Phillips, Doctor to the World Champions: My Autobiography, →ISBN:

     There were no showers for the players, only a communal plunge bath.

2. Immersion of the entire body in water by plunging.
   • 1844, The Practice of the Water Cure:

     A physician should well examine his patient's powers and be well certified of the integrity and strength of his brain circulation, before he orders the plunge bath.

   • 2007, Marybetts Sinclair, Modern Hydrotherapy for the Massage Therapist, →ISBN, page 146:

     A short (30 seconds to 2 minutes) cold plunge bath is a traditional hydrotherapy treatment which, when given regularly, stimulates the muscles of the arteries of the skin to contract more strongly.

   • 2014, Yogi Ramacharaka, William Walker Atkinson, Hatha Yoga, →ISBN:

     In taking a plunge bath, always wet the head before getting the body under water then wet the chest, and then plunge in.