The word<unk> " refers to the placement of something to where it will grow or reproduce, and is most commonly used in respect of the introduction of a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of a person or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease; but also can be used to refer to the communication of a disease to a living organism by transferring its causative agent into the organism, to implant microorganisms or infectious material into a culture medium such as a brewers vat or a petri dish, to safeguard as if by<unk> , to introduce an idea or attitude into someone's mind, any placement of microorganisms or viruses at a site where infection is possible such as to increase soybeans' nitrogen fixation one can treat soybeans at planting with Rhizobium japonicum inoculant. The verb "to inoculate" is from Middle English "inoculaten", which meant "to graft a scion (a scion is a plant part to be grafted onto another plant); which in turn is from Latin "inoculre" or "inocult-".
This article covers variolation,<unk>  as a method of purposefully infecting a person with smallpox (Variola) in a controlled manner so as to minimise the severity of the infection and also to induce immunity against further infection. See vaccination for post-variolation methods of 
safeguarding as if by<unk>  by administering weakened or dead pathogens to a healthy person or animal with the intent of conferring immunity against a targeted form of a related disease agent.
Today the terms<unk> , vaccination and immunization are used more or less interchangeably and popularly refer to the process of artificial induction of immunity against various infectious diseases. The microorganism used in an<unk>  is called the inoculant or inoculum.
Inoculation
Fermentation 
Concoction
Fertilization
Demulcent
Sterilization 
Envenomation
Xenobiotic