miasma
English
WOTD – 31 January 2007
Etymology
First attested in 1665. From Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain; pollution”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /miˈæzmə/, /maɪˈæzmə/
- (US) enPR: mī-ăz'mə, mē- ăz'mə, IPA(key): /maɪˈæzmə/, /miˈæzmə/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -æzmə
- Homophone: my asthma
Noun
miasma (plural miasmas or miasmata)
- A noxious atmosphere or emanation once thought to originate from swamps and waste, and to cause disease.
- 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, OCLC 688657546, page 276:
- There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler air.
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- (figurative) A noxious atmosphere or influence, an ominous environment.
- 2020 September 15, Geoffrey Morrison, “aptX: Everything you need to know about the wireless Bluetooth enhancement”, in CNET:
- It was into this lossy compression miasma that aptX was born.
-
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:miasma.
Related terms
- miasmatic
Translations
noxious atmosphere or influence
|
noxious emanation that originates from swamps and causes disease
|
Further reading
miasma theory on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
miasma (Greek mythology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- Masami, imaams
Dutch
Etymology
First attested in 1778. Borrowed from New Latin miasma, from Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain, pollution”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌmiˈɑs.maː/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: mi‧as‧ma
- Rhymes: -ɑsmaː
Noun
miasma n (plural miasmata or miasma's, diminutive miasmaatje n)
- miasma (noxious atmosphere or influence)
- (medicine, historical) miasma (emanation from rotting organic matter causing diseases)
Derived terms
- miasmatisch
References
- van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “miasma”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute
Italian
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain, pollution”).
Noun
miasma m (plural miasmi)
- miasma
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin miasma, from Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “pollution”).
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /miˈaz.mɐ/ [mɪˈaz.mɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈmjaz.mɐ/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /miˈaʒ.mɐ/ [mɪˈaʒ.mɐ], (faster pronunciation) /ˈmjaʒ.mɐ/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /miˈaz.ma/ [mɪˈaz.ma], (faster pronunciation) /ˈmjaz.ma/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈmjaʒ.mɐ/
Noun
miasma m (plural miasmas)
- miasma (noxious atmosphere or influence)
- (medicine, historical) miasma (noxious emanation from swamps that was thought to cause diseases)
Related terms
- miasmático
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmjasma/ [ˈmjaz.ma]
- Rhymes: -asma
- Syllabification: mias‧ma
Noun
miasma m (plural miasmas)
- miasma
Further reading
- “miasma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014