Effluvium
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A gaseous or vaporous emission, especially a foul-smelling one. countable, uncountable
"She was now bending over a huge light wood blaze, with a pipe of rude structure and no small dimensions in her mouth, from which the occasional puff went forth, filling the apartment with the unpleasant effluvia of the vilest leaf-tobacco."
- 2 a foul-smelling outflow or vapor (especially a gaseous waste) wordnet
- 3 A condition causing the shedding of hair. countable, uncountable
"Reversible hair loss or effluvium occurs following either endogenous or exogenous damage to anagen hair follicles[…]."
Example
More examples"She was now bending over a huge light wood blaze, with a pipe of rude structure and no small dimensions in her mouth, from which the occasional puff went forth, filling the apartment with the unpleasant effluvia of the vilest leaf-tobacco."
Etymology
From Latin effluvium (“an outlet”), from effluō (“flow out or away”), from ex (“out of, from”) + fluō (“flow”).
Related phrases
More for "effluvium"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.