Definition of "variolation" []

• The inoculation of a person with smallpox so as to induce a mild form of the illness and subsequent immunity to it. (noun)

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• "As the virus existed possibly as far back as 1000 BCE, and as the first attempts at vaccination called variolation were in the 10th century, to claim that the colonists didn't understand the disease and didn't know what they were doing..."
• "Inoculation, hereafter referred to as variolation, was likely practiced in Africa, India, and China long before the 18th century, when it was introduced to Europe."
• "Using the disease to directly infect a person is called variolation, with the intent of resisting the same disease later."