effluvium
[ih-floo-vee-uh m]
- a slight or invisible exhalation or vapor, especially one that is disagreeable or noxious.
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Origin of effluvium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for effluvia
Contemporary Examples
As an Ebola patient slips from bad to worse to dire, he can expel as many as two and a half gallons of effluvia a day.
Historical Examples
That trace of effluvia which in force could sicken a Terran, was his guide.
Storm Over WarlockAndre Norton
The streets and alleys reeked with the effluvia of a slave ship's between-decks.
Looking BackwardEdward Bellamy
I tell you, Kerr, added she, the effluvia from your shop is insupportable.
Zoz perfume, now so close to him, made him feel dizzy with its effluvia.
Two banks of the SeineFernand Vandrem
The communication of disease, either by personal contact with the sick or by means of effluvia arising from their bodies.
effluvium
- an unpleasant smell or exhalation, as of gaseous waste or decaying matter
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin: a flowing out; see effluent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for effluvia
n.
Latin plural of effluvium.
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effluvium
n.
1640s, from Latin effluvium "a flowing out," from effluere (see effluence).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
effluvium
(ĭ-flōō′vē-əm)- A shedding, especially of hair.
- An exhalation, especially one of bad odor or injurious influence. No longer in technical use.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.