mephitis
[muh-fahy-tis]
noun
(in nontechnical use) a noxious or pestilential exhalation from the earth, as poison gas.
any noisome or poisonous stench.
Origin of mephitis
1700–10; < Latin mephītis, mefītis; compare Oscan Mefit(eí) the goddess of such exhalations
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for mephitis
stink, smell, reek, vapor, odor, gas, fumes, smog, pollution, stench, fetor, mephitis, effluvium, redolence, funk, malodorExamples from the Web for mephitis
Historical Examples of mephitis
Mephitis is, however, purely American wherever he comes from.
A skunk, (mephitis Americana,) which was killed in the afternoon, made a supper for one of the messes.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and CaliforniaBrevet Col. J.C. Fremont
Tortoises were very common, and the mephitis left frequent traces of his existence.
Mephitis, me-fī′tis, n. a poisonous exhalation from the ground or from decaying substances—also Mephī′tism.
Because the odor is quite like Mephitis it is considered a so-called anti-spasmodic.
mephitis
[mə-fī′tĭs]
n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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