miasma
noun /miˈæzmə/, /maɪˈæzmə/
/miˈæzmə/, /maɪˈæzmə/
[countable, usually singular, uncountable] (literary)- a mass of air that is dirty and smells unpleasant
- A miasma of stale alcohol hung around him.
- (figurative) the miasma of depression
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Greek, literally ‘defilement’, from miainein ‘pollute’.