emunctory

American  

[ih-muhngk-tuh-ree] / ɪˈmʌŋk tə ri /

noun

emunctories plural

1. a part or organ of the body, as the skin or a kidney, that functions in carrying off waste products.

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adjective

1. excretory.

emunctory British  

/ -trɪ, ɪˈmʌŋktərɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to a bodily organ or duct having an excretory function

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noun

1. an excretory organ or duct, such as a skin pore

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• emunctories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of emunctory

1535–45; < New Latin ēmunctōrium (noun), ēmunctōrius (adj.), equivalent to Latin ēmung ( ere ) to wipe one's nose ( ē- e- ¹ + -mungere, akin to mūcus mucus ) + -tōrium -tory ², -tōrius -tory ¹

Example Sentences

And lastly, the skin is a great emunctory, and carries off waste matters from the body.

From The Art of Living in Australia ; together with three hundred Australian cookery recipes and accessory kitchen information by Mrs. H. Wicken by Muskett, Philip E.

I think people not able to pay forfeited "the prominence on the face, which is the organ of scent, and emunctory of the brain," as good Walker says.

From Notes and Queries, Number 51, October 19, 1850 by Various

Its most important effect," says a writer in the Popular Science Monthly, "is the stimulation of the emunctory action of the skin.

From Hygienic Physiology : with Special Reference to the Use of Alcoholic Drinks and Narcotics by Steele, Joel Dorman