Hypertext Webster Gateway: "miasma"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Miasma \Mi*as"ma\, n.; pl. {Miasmata}. [NL., fr. Gr. ?
defilement, fr. ? to pollute.]
Infectious particles or germs floating in the air; air made
noxious by the presence of such particles or germs; noxious
effluvia; malaria.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
miasma
n 1: an unwholesome atmosphere; "the novel spun a miasma of death
and decay"
2: unhealthy vapors rising from the ground or other sources;
"the miasma of the marshes"; "a miasma of cigar smoke"
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