mephitisn.

Brit.

/mᵻˈfʌɪtᵻs/, U.S.

/məˈfaɪdᵻs/

Forms: 1600s– mephitis, 1700s mephites (irregular).

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin mephītis.

Etymology: < classical Latin mefītis, mephītis an exhalation of sulphuretted water or gas, also personified, as the name of the goddess of exhalations; of Italic origin, compare Oscan Mefiteí . Compare French méphitis (1749). Compare earlier mephitic adj.The spelling in -ph- in Latin is a respelling after Greek orthographic practices. In sense 2, adopted as a genus name by E. Geoffroy and G. Cuvier 1795, in Magazin Encyclopédique II. 187.

1. A noxious or pestilential emanation, esp. from the earth; a noisome or poisonous stench. Also figurative. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisonous exhalation

damp1480

mephitis1625

miasm1649

miasma1665

the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > noxious vapour or gas

reekeOE

air?c1225

damp1480

mephitis1625

smoke1648

effluvium1656

fume1665

miasma1665

mephitic1802

the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [noun] > fetid smells > other spec.

nidora1620

mephitis1625

nidorosity1696

reek1729

fire stink1844

1625 W. Crosse Belgiaes Troubles & Triumphs i. 14 This murraine..Whose furie did our Cohorts all infest, And like some sad Mephitis pierst their vaines.

1638 R. Farley Kalender of Mans Life sig. H What comes of all your cates? the jakes can tell, Which turnes your gold into Mephitis smell.

1703 Philos. Trans. 1702–3 (Royal Soc.) 23 1327 The last Essay is of Venomous Steems and Damps, in Latin called Mephites... Of this sort the Mephitis of Hierapolis, and the Specus Coricius were famous of old.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Mephitis, a Damp, or strong Sulphureous Smell,..a Stench, Stink, or ill Savour.

1781 T. Pennant Tour in Wales (1783) II. 190 A mephites [sic], or pestilential vapour.

1793 T. Beddoes Observ. Nature & Cure Calculus 250 The mephitis, which exhales from putrefied animal substances.

1817 S. T. Coleridge Satyrane's Lett. i, in Biogr. Lit. II. 197 My nostrils, the most placable of all the senses, reconciled to or indeed insensible of the mephitis.

1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits ii. 16 Nobody likes to be..suffocated with bilge, mephitis, and stewing oil.

1993 Guardian 21 Aug. (Weekend Suppl.) 6/2 In the early Nineties, we see a fuddled Scrooge and bigot, his singlet-clad form barely visible through a mephitis of alcohol, anality, and spank magazines.

2. Zoology. In form Mephitis. A North and Central American genus of skunks, which comprises the striped skunk, M. mephitis, and the hooded skunk, M. macroura; (also mephitis) a skunk of this genus.

ΚΠ

1845 Encycl. Metrop. XXV. 1115/1 Storr also formed his genus Nasua from two of the Linnæan Viverræ, and Cuvier his Mephitis from other two.

1871 Amer. Naturalist 5 246 I approached the vital organs of the Mephitis with suitable care.

1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 440/1 Anal glands [of Mydaus] largely developed, and emitting an odour like that of the American Skunks (Mephitis).

1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XI. 33/1 (caption) Mephitis, a skunk, showing aposematic coloration.

1991 R. M. Nowak Walker's Mammals of World (ed. 5) II. 1133/1 The well-known scent of Mephitis is expelled from two tiny nipples located just inside the anus.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	mephitis
释义	mephitisn. Brit. /mᵻˈfʌɪtᵻs/, U.S. /məˈfaɪdᵻs/ Forms: 1600s– mephitis, 1700s mephites (irregular). Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin mephītis. Etymology: < classical Latin mefītis, mephītis an exhalation of sulphuretted water or gas, also personified, as the name of the goddess of exhalations; of Italic origin, compare Oscan Mefiteí . Compare French méphitis (1749). Compare earlier mephitic adj.The spelling in -ph- in Latin is a respelling after Greek orthographic practices. In sense 2, adopted as a genus name by E. Geoffroy and G. Cuvier 1795, in Magazin Encyclopédique II. 187. 1. A noxious or pestilential emanation, esp. from the earth; a noisome or poisonous stench. Also figurative. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisonous exhalation damp1480 mephitis1625 miasm1649 miasma1665 the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > noxious vapour or gas reekeOE air?c1225 damp1480 mephitis1625 smoke1648 effluvium1656 fume1665 miasma1665 mephitic1802 the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [noun] > fetid smells > other spec. nidora1620 mephitis1625 nidorosity1696 reek1729 fire stink1844 1625 W. Crosse Belgiaes Troubles & Triumphs i. 14 This murraine..Whose furie did our Cohorts all infest, And like some sad Mephitis pierst their vaines. 1638 R. Farley Kalender of Mans Life sig. H What comes of all your cates? the jakes can tell, Which turnes your gold into Mephitis smell. 1703 Philos. Trans. 1702–3 (Royal Soc.) 23 1327 The last Essay is of Venomous Steems and Damps, in Latin called Mephites... Of this sort the Mephitis of Hierapolis, and the Specus Coricius were famous of old. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Mephitis, a Damp, or strong Sulphureous Smell,..a Stench, Stink, or ill Savour. 1781 T. Pennant Tour in Wales (1783) II. 190 A mephites [sic], or pestilential vapour. 1793 T. Beddoes Observ. Nature & Cure Calculus 250 The mephitis, which exhales from putrefied animal substances. 1817 S. T. Coleridge Satyrane's Lett. i, in Biogr. Lit. II. 197 My nostrils, the most placable of all the senses, reconciled to or indeed insensible of the mephitis. 1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits ii. 16 Nobody likes to be..suffocated with bilge, mephitis, and stewing oil. 1993 Guardian 21 Aug. (Weekend Suppl.) 6/2 In the early Nineties, we see a fuddled Scrooge and bigot, his singlet-clad form barely visible through a mephitis of alcohol, anality, and spank magazines. 2. Zoology. In form Mephitis. A North and Central American genus of skunks, which comprises the striped skunk, M. mephitis, and the hooded skunk, M. macroura; (also mephitis) a skunk of this genus. ΚΠ 1845 Encycl. Metrop. XXV. 1115/1 Storr also formed his genus Nasua from two of the Linnæan Viverræ, and Cuvier his Mephitis from other two. 1871 Amer. Naturalist 5 246 I approached the vital organs of the Mephitis with suitable care. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 440/1 Anal glands [of Mydaus] largely developed, and emitting an odour like that of the American Skunks (Mephitis). 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XI. 33/1 (caption) Mephitis, a skunk, showing aposematic coloration. 1991 R. M. Nowak Walker's Mammals of World (ed. 5) II. 1133/1 The well-known scent of Mephitis is expelled from two tiny nipples located just inside the anus. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1625
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