mofette

[moh-fet; Fr. maw-fet]

mo·fette

[moh-fet; Fr. maw-fet]
noun
1.
a noxious emanation, consisting chiefly of carbon dioxide, escaping from the earth in regions of nearly extinct volcanic activity.
2.
one of the openings or fissures from which this emanation issues.
Also, mof·fette.


Origin:
1815–25; < French < Italian moffetta (Neapolitan mufeta), equivalent to muff(a) (Upper Italian mofa) mould (< Langobardic; compare German Muff mould, late Middle High German müffeln to give off a foul smell) + -etta -etta
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To mofette

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Mofette is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
mofette (məʊˈfɛt)
 
n
an opening in a region of nearly extinct volcanic activity, through which carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other gases pass
 
[C19: from French, from Neapolitan Italian mofeta; compare dialect German muffezen to smell fetid]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

mofette

fumarole, or gaseous volcanic vent, that has a temperature well below the boiling point of water, though above the temperature of the surrounding air, and that is generally rich in carbon dioxide and perhaps methane and other hydrocarbons. When the winds are right, the issuing gases may drift and settle into nearby hollows or small valleys and cause the asphyxiation of animals and birds wandering in the areas. Such potentially deadly hollows have been noted in the Absaroka Range near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, U.S., and at the base of Iceland's Hekla volcano.

Learn more about mofette with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT