flatus
[fley-tuh s]
- intestinal gas produced by bacterial action on waste matter in the intestines and composed primarily of hydrogen sulfide and varying amounts of methane.
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Origin of flatus
1660–70; < New Latin; Latin: a blowing, breathing, breath, equivalent to flā(re) to blow + -tus suffix of v. action
Also called gas.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for flatus
Historical Examples
There should be proper control of flatus and motions from the date of operation.
Not that they may not be more than names (flatus vocis), but that they are nothing less than names.
Tragic Sense Of LifeMiguel de Unamuno
Relief is obtained both from the pain and from the sense of distension by expulsion of flatus.
His stomach was a good deal disturbed, and the bowels were soon distended with flatus.
Much distress is occasioned by abdominal distension from flatus, which develops with remarkable rapidity.
flatus
- gas generated in the alimentary canal
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin: a blowing, snorting, from flāre to breathe, blow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for flatus
n.
1660s, from Latin flatus "a blowing," from flare "to blow" (see blow (v.1)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
flatus
(flā′təs)- Gas generated in or expelled from the digestive tract, especially from the stomach or intestines.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.