Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In English-speaking European countries, traditionally a person professionally trained to give massages is known by the gendered French loanwords masseur (male) or masseuse (female). In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as "massage therapists." In some provinces of Canada, they are called "registered massage therapists."

In professional settings, clients are treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. There are many different modalities in the massage industry, including (but not limited to): deep tissue, manual lymphatic drainage, medical, sports, structural integration, Swedish, Thai and trigger point.

The word comes from the French massage 'friction of kneading', which, in turn, comes either from the Arabic word مَسَّ massa meaning 'to touch, feel', the Portuguese amassar 'knead', from the Latin massa meaning 'mass, dough', or the Greek verb μάσσω (massō) 'to handle, touch, to work with the hands, to knead dough'.

The ancient Greek word for massage was anatripsis and the Latin was frictio.

Archaeological evidence of massage has been found in many ancient civilizations including China, India, Japan, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Mesopotamia.

2330 BC: The Tomb of Akmanthor (also known as "The Tomb of the Physician") in Saqqara, Egypt, depicts two men having work done on their feet and hands, possibly depicting a massage.

1363–912 BC: The word muššuʾu ("massage") is written for the first time on a Middle Assyrian tablet. Its use is described in a list of recipes concerning diseases of the foot.

722–481 BC: Huangdi Neijing is composed during the Chinese Spring and Autumn period. The Nei-jing is a compilation of medical knowledge known up to that date, and is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine. Massage is referred to in 30 different chapters of the Nei Jing. It specifies the use of different massage techniques and how they should be used in the treatment of specific ailments, and injuries. Also known as "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon," the text refers to previous medical knowledge from the time of the Yellow Emperor (c. 2700 BC), misleading some into believing the text itself was written during the time of the Yellow Emperor (which would predate written history).