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miasmata

 - 4 dictionary results

mi⋅as⋅ma

  [mahy-az-muh, mee-]
Use miasmata in a Sentence
–noun, plural -mas, -ma⋅ta  [-muh-tuh] .
1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.
2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
Origin:
1655–65; < NL < Gk míasma stain, pollution, akin to miaínein to pollute, stain

Related forms:
mi⋅as⋅mal, mi⋅as⋅mat⋅ic  [mahy-az-mat-ik] , mi⋅as⋅mat⋅i⋅cal, mi⋅as⋅mic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mi·as·ma   (mī-āz'mə, mē-)   
n.   pl. mi·as·mas or mi·as·ma·ta (-mə-tə)

  1. A noxious atmosphere or influence: "The family affection, the family expectations, seemed to permeate the atmosphere . . . like a coiling miasma" (Louis Auchincloss).

    1. A poisonous atmosphere formerly thought to rise from swamps and putrid matter and cause disease.

    2. A thick vaporous atmosphere or emanation: wreathed in a miasma of cigarette smoke.


[Greek, pollution, stain, from miainein, to pollute.]
mi·as'mal, mi'as·mat'ic (mī'əz-māt'ĭk), mi·as'mic (-mĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

miasma 
1665, from Gk. miasma (gen. miasmatos) "stain, pollution," related to miainein "to pollute," from PIE base *mei-/*mai- "to stain, defile" (cf. O.E. mal "stain, mark," see mole (1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mi·as·ma
Pronunciation: mI-'az-m&, mE-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural mi·as·mas also mi·as·ma·ta /-m&t-&/
: a vaporous exhalation (as of a marshy region or of putrescent matter) formerly believed to cause disease (as malaria) —mi·as·mal /-m&l/ adjective —mi·as·mat·ic /"mI-&z-'mat-ik/ adjective —mi·as·mic /mI-'az-mik, mE-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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