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What is sputum?

sputum

 [spyoo-tuhm]   Example Sentences Origin

spu·tum

   [spyoo-tuhm]
noun, plural -ta  [-tuh] .
matter, as saliva mixed with mucus or pus, expectorated from the lungs and respiratory passages.
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Origin:
1685–95; < Latin spūtum, noun use of neuter of spūtus, past participle of spuere to spit, equivalent to spū- variant stem + -tus past participle suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Sputum is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Example Sentences
  • Mucolytics contain ingredients that make sputum more watery and easier to cough up.
  • They investigate possible food sources in garbage piles, septic tanks, and sputum.
  • These may be used if there are signs of infection, such as fever or yellow or green sputum.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
sputum (ˈspjuːtəm)
 
—n , pl -ta
1.  a mass of salivary matter ejected from the mouth
2.  saliva ejected from the mouth mixed with mucus or pus exuded from the respiratory passages, as in bronchitis or bronchiectasis
 
[C17: from Latin: spittle, from spuere to spit out]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sputum
1693, from L. sputum, noun use of neuter pp. of spuere "to spit" (see spew).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

sputum spu·tum (spy&oomacr;'təm)
n. pl. spu·ta (-tə)
Matter coughed up and usually expelled from the mouth, especially mucus or mucopurulent matter expectorated in diseases of the air passages.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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